543,331 Shares in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Acquired by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 543,331 shares of the railroad operator's stock, valued at approximately $170,926,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.24% of Norfolk Southern at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,272,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 43,408 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $12,533,000 after purchasing an additional 3,887 shares during the last quarter. SCS Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $13,837,000. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 49.3% in the fourth quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. now owns 50,620 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $14,615,000 after acquiring an additional 16,720 shares during the period. Finally, PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 29.2% in the 2nd quarter. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab now owns 54,620 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $17,183,000 after purchasing an additional 12,350 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on NSC. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $308.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Stephens raised shares of Norfolk Southern to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $340.90 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $76.57 billion, a PE ratio of 29.09, a PEG ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 1.27. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12 month low of $268.23 and a 12 month high of $358.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $325.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $311.88.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.02% and a return on equity of 18.21%. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.29 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.66 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.08%.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.

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