Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Acquires 1,715 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 6.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,648 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,715 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $6,871,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,550,000. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on NSC shares. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $275.87 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $254.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $240.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $206.71 and a twelve month high of $277.60. The firm has a market cap of $62.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.70%.

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.