Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 1,303 Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 251,986 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 1,303 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.10% of Norfolk Southern worth $59,683,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NSC. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 10.1% in the first quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 4,297 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $953,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 185.2% during the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 105,805 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $25,060,000 after buying an additional 68,709 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 32.8% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 3,047 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $722,000 after purchasing an additional 752 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.3% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 5,309 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,257,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Brien Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 24.5% in the first quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 508 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $120,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on NSC. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 note on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $278.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $267.48.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.4%

NSC traded down $1.04 on Monday, hitting $261.46. The company had a trading volume of 89,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,294,721. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $244.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $239.82. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $58.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52-week low of $201.63 and a 52-week high of $277.60.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.