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

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 6.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 92,118 shares of the railroad operator's stock after purchasing an additional 5,722 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $21,818,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $547,575,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 25,555.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 989,796 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $234,433,000 after acquiring an additional 985,938 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,608,080 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $2,020,318,000 after acquiring an additional 918,559 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $945,385,000 after acquiring an additional 580,293 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 293.7% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 671,680 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $157,643,000 after acquiring an additional 501,053 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on NSC. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $255.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. 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 research report on Thursday, March 27th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $269.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $267.71.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NSC stock opened at $255.44 on Thursday. The business's 50 day moving average is $238.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $239.21. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a twelve month low of $201.63 and a twelve month high of $277.60. The company has a market capitalization of $57.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.72 by ($0.03). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 27.40% and a return on equity of 19.65%. The company 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 revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

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