86,455 Shares in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Purchased by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Key Points

• Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased 86,455 Norfolk Southern shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $27.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 75.1% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly neutral, with seven Buy ratings and 15 Hold ratings; the consensus price target is $348, while several firms recently raised targets to between $355 and $376.
• Norfolk Southern exceeded quarterly expectations with $3.52 EPS and $3.46 billion in revenue, up 12.5% year over year. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, or $5.40 annualized, yielding about 1.5%.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 86,455 shares of the railroad operator's stock, valued at approximately $27,198,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth $26,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Stephens raised shares of Norfolk Southern to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Benchmark reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $351.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $348.67 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $78.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.75, a P/E/G ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $332.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $315.01. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1-year low of $268.23 and a 1-year high of $358.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.02% and a return on equity of 18.21%. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.29 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.74 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.08%.

Norfolk Southern Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.

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