7,455 Shares in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Purchased by Nomura Holdings Inc.

Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,455 shares of the railroad operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,750,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,694,573 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,098,472,000 after purchasing an additional 113,648 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $1,796,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,678 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,333,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Clarendon Private LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth $309,000. Finally, Ausbil Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $4,703,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $259.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $266.50.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NSC stock traded down $0.77 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $238.87. 207,340 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,204,572. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $201.63 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60. The stock's 50 day moving average is $227.02 and its 200-day moving average is $242.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company has a market cap of $53.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.03). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.49 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is currently 36.89%.

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.