Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Has $2.39 Million Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd raised its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 39.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,096 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 2,865 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,386,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $556,797,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 69.0% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $536,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112,261 shares in the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 41.2% during the 3rd quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 1,976,871 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $389,305,000 after purchasing an additional 577,171 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $103,223,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 23,585.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 351,261 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $83,031,000 after purchasing an additional 349,778 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, January 29th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $261.78.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.5 %

NSC traded down $1.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $225.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 28,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,361,059. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $242.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $237.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.44, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.32 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.88 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $1,902,593.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.19% 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.