Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec Takes $21.41 Million Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 68,047 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $21,407,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $5,033,549,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,084,701,000. Pentwater Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth about $826,128,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth about $503,093,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth about $364,414,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on NSC shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $351.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $363.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NSC opened at $348.67 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12-month low of $268.23 and a 12-month high of $358.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.75, a P/E/G ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $332.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $315.01. 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 (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.38 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.02% and a return on equity of 18.21%. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.74 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. 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.