Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Sells 6,756 Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Key Points

• Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS reduced its Norfolk Southern stake by 1.9% in the first quarter, selling 6,756 shares and leaving it with 353,729 shares worth about $101.5 million.
• Recent analyst activity on NSC has been mixed: several firms raised price targets, but others kept neutral/hold views, and the overall consensus rating remains Hold with an average target price of $326.72.
• Norfolk Southern reported quarterly EPS of $2.65, beating expectations, while its stock recently traded near a 52-week high at $327.60 and it paid a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS cut its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 353,729 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 6,756 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS owned about 0.16% of Norfolk Southern worth $101,520,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NSC. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 40.4% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,447 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,855 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $327,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 64.1% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 4,275 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,094,000 after purchasing an additional 1,670 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 185.1% in the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 4,588 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 2,979 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Norfolk Southern

Here are the key news stories impacting Norfolk Southern this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Robert W. Baird raised its price target on Norfolk Southern from $330 to $360, signaling more upside potential even though the firm kept a neutral rating. Benzinga report
• Positive Sentiment: Stephens upgraded Norfolk Southern to hold, a modestly more favorable stance that can support sentiment around the stock. Tickerreport.com article
• Neutral Sentiment: A Globe and Mail roundup noted that analyst views on Norfolk Southern are mixed, reinforcing that investors are balancing optimism on valuation with caution on near-term fundamentals. The Globe and Mail article
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan lowered its price target from $331 to $316 and kept a neutral rating, suggesting limited upside from current levels and some pressure on sentiment. Benzinga report
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual options activity showed a surge in put buying, which can indicate that some traders are positioning for downside or hedging against short-term weakness. Options trading report

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NSC. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $313.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $330.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Wolfe Research increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Norfolk Southern from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $326.72.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock traded up $3.83 on Friday, hitting $327.60. 636,072 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 981,612. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52 week low of $257.49 and a 52 week high of $328.58. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $313.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $303.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 1.27.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.13 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 18.30%. Norfolk Southern's quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio is 45.49%.

About Norfolk Southern

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NSC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.