Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Makes New Investment in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 2,957 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $930,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of NSC. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the first quarter worth approximately $3,272,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 43,408 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $12,533,000 after acquiring an additional 3,887 shares during the period. SCS Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $13,837,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth approximately $3,669,000. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth approximately $1,376,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on NSC. Evercore set a $358.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $351.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $316.00 to $338.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NSC stock opened at $350.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $78.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.21 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The business’s 50 day moving average is $328.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $313.31. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a twelve month low of $268.23 and a twelve month high of $358.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.21% and a net margin of 21.02%.The business had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.29 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.66 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 46.08%.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.