Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Trims Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Key Points

• Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund reduced its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation by 71.4%, selling 17,900 shares during the first quarter and maintaining 7,162 shares worth approximately $1.7 million.
• Norfolk Southern's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $3.29, exceeding analysts' expectations, along with a net margin of 27.51% and revenue of $3.11 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend payment of $1.35 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.9%, with shares set to go ex-dividend on August 1st.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 71.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,162 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 17,900 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,696,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Greenline Partners LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 129.2% during the first quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 149 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on NSC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $288.00 price target (up from $282.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $255.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $263.00 to $323.00 in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $278.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $285.15.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Norfolk Southern stock traded down $0.4310 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $283.9190. 3,881,134 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,579,051. The company has a market cap of $63.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $269.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $247.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12-month low of $201.63 and a 12-month high of $291.69.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.24 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 27.51% and a return on equity of 19.35%. Norfolk Southern has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.49%.

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.