Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Increases Holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 3.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,976 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,810,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 129.2% in the 1st quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 149 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 883.3% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 177 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $298.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $235.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.25.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC opened at $288.34 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $64.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.33. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $201.63 and a fifty-two week high of $302.24. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $284.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $257.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.24 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 27.51% and a return on equity of 19.35%. Norfolk Southern has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 36.49%.

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.