Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Bought by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm 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.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on NSC shares. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 2.6 %

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $275.87 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $254.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $240.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $206.71 and a 52 week high of $277.60. 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 has a market capitalization of $62.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.