Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Acquired by Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 6.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,656 shares of the railroad operator's stock after buying an additional 3,970 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $16,564,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on NSC shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 3.5 %

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock traded down $8.85 on Wednesday, reaching $247.23. The stock had a trading volume of 2,214,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,244,791. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $206.71 and a 1 year high of $277.60. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $259.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $243.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.31.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is 50.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,550,000. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total value of $13,138,173.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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.