Mizuho Securities USA LLC Grows Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 46.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 21,442 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,781 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $5,032,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $63,417,000 after buying an additional 8,844 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,796,000. Grandview Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $918,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,678 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,333,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 3,168 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $787,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $293.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NSC opened at $231.84 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.50 billion, a PE ratio of 20.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $206.71 and a 1 year high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $246.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $249.82.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. Analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

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.