Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Purchased by Mizuho Securities USA LLC

Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 18,831.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,298,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,280,579 shares during the period. Norfolk Southern makes up about 2.1% of Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Mizuho Securities USA LLC owned about 1.46% of Norfolk Southern worth $819,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,428 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,556,000 after buying an additional 2,453 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 533,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $132,565,000 after acquiring an additional 3,621 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $222,025,000 after acquiring an additional 889,925 shares in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at $1,676,000. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 7,206 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,791,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

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

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE NSC opened at $261.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $59.11 billion, a PE ratio of 24.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $205.70 and a one year high of $277.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $252.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $238.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 50.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NSC. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $263.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.68.

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.