Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 136,886 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Retirement Systems of Alabama decreased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 73.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 49,838 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 136,886 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $11,781,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.0% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 127,150 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $25,040,000 after acquiring an additional 1,237 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.4% in the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 44,553 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $8,774,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 35.8% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 14,810 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,917,000 after buying an additional 3,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.7% during the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 28,282 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $5,570,000 after buying an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on NSC shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $230.50 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $250.60 and its 200-day moving average is $233.39. The firm has a market cap of $52.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $183.09 and a 12-month high of $263.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company’s revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.32 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Norfolk Southern 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.