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

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 18.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 951,361 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 148,221 shares during the period. Norfolk Southern comprises approximately 0.6% of Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned 0.42% of Norfolk Southern worth $243,520,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 423.8% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 110 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 58.5% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 130 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 30.5% during the second quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 184 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at $51,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NSC. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $316.00 to $307.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $314.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Seven equities 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 stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $299.70.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC opened at $287.49 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $286.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $268.50. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1 year low of $201.63 and a 1 year high of $302.24. The company has a market capitalization 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.31 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 24.22%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.25 EPS. Research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $282.97 per share, for a total transaction of $466,900.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,395,640. This represents a 15.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard H. Anderson purchased 2,600 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $281.86 per share, for a total transaction of $732,836.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,973,020. This represents a 59.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.