7,455 Shares in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Bought by Nomura Holdings Inc.

Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 7,455 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,750,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newbrook Capital Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $27,775,000. NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 189.8% in the 4th quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 2,489 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $584,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 518,170 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $121,614,000 after acquiring an additional 22,005 shares in the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 20.2% in the 4th quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 9,448 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,217,000 after acquiring an additional 1,588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meketa Capital LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $360,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $246.19 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $201.63 and a 12 month high of $277.60. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $226.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $242.47. The company has a market cap of $55.50 billion, a PE ratio of 21.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.49 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $269.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $271.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $259.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $255.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $266.50.

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.