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

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation by 8.2%, now holding 70,370 shares valued at approximately $16.6 million.
• Norfolk Southern recently reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $3.24.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, with a yield of 1.9%, to be paid on August 20th.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 8.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 70,370 shares of the railroad operator's stock after buying an additional 5,313 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $16,599,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 6,275 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,473,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216 shares during the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $695,000. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 68,091 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $15,981,000 after purchasing an additional 1,110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $357,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered Norfolk Southern from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Baird R W raised Norfolk Southern to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $285.15.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NSC stock traded down $1.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $280.86. The stock had a trading volume of 1,939,854 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,210,820. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12-month low of $201.63 and a 12-month high of $288.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.31. The firm's 50-day moving average is $266.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $246.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.24 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 27.51%. On average, analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is presently 36.49%.

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.