Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Purchases 148,221 Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 18.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 951,361 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 148,221 shares during the period. Norfolk Southern makes up approximately 0.6% of Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $243,520,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 423.8% during the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 110 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the first quarter worth $27,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 130 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 30.5% in the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 184 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $51,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Richard H. Anderson purchased 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $281.86 per share, with a total value of $732,836.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,973,020. This represents a 59.09% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $282.97 per share, with a total value of $466,900.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,395,640. The trade was a 15.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $298.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 24th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $235.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $299.70.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $287.49 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $286.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $268.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1 year low of $201.63 and a 1 year high of $302.24. The firm has a market cap of $64.51 billion, a PE ratio of 21.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.33.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.31 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 24.22% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The company’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.25 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.19%.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.