Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) Holdings Boosted by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,395 shares of the railroad operator's stock after purchasing an additional 1,506 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $15,726,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kathmere Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at $202,000. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 5,446 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,290,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 31,960 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $7,570,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $362,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NSC. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $278.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $247.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Susquehanna restated a "neutral" rating and set a $260.00 price objective (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $273.80.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.3%

NSC traded up $3.33 during trading on Friday, hitting $266.47. The company had a trading volume of 1,718,349 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,238,573. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1-year low of $201.63 and a 1-year high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $60.07 billion, a PE ratio of 18.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50-day moving average of $247.98 and a 200-day moving average of $240.69.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.72 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.65% and a net margin of 27.40%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.49 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.89%.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids; metals and construction materials, such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and military-related products; and automotive, including finished motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as coal.