Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Reduces Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky trimmed its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,107 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 1,088 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $4,251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,265 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.4% during the third quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 1,749 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $435,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.8% during the second quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 1,516 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Blue Chip Partners LLC increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.5% in the second quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 7,716 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,656,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 381 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,550,000. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $246.22 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $259.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $243.50. The stock has a market cap of $55.70 billion, a PE ratio of 23.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $206.71 and a 1-year high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 50.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $263.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.68.

About Norfolk Southern

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.