Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Acquired by California State Teachers Retirement System

Key Points

• California State Teachers’ Retirement System dramatically increased its Norfolk Southern stake by 107.1 million shares in the second quarter, holding 107.5 million shares valued at approximately $33.8 billion, or 47.84% of the company.
• Several major institutions also initiated positions, including BlackRock, Norges Bank, Bank of America, Pentwater Capital Management, and Legal & General; institutional investors collectively own 75.1% of Norfolk Southern.
• Norfolk Southern beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $3.52 EPS and $3.46 billion in revenue, while analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $348.

California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 34,371.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 107,455,765 shares of the railroad operator's stock after buying an additional 107,144,045 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 47.84% of Norfolk Southern worth $33,804,509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,033,549,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth $1,084,701,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at $978,977,000. Pentwater Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at $826,128,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth about $503,093,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on NSC shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $351.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Norfolk Southern from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE NSC opened at $329.07 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $73.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.08, a PEG ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.27. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $335.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $315.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52 week low of $268.23 and a 52 week high of $358.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.38 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.29 EPS. The business's revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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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