Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Grows Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 0.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 546,174 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 4,754 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $139,804,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter worth $27,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 129.2% in the first quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 149 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter worth $41,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 883.3% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 177 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 30.5% in 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC opened at $280.29 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $285.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $262.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $62.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.33. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12-month low of $201.63 and a 12-month high of $302.24.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 24.22% and a return on equity of 19.13%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.25 earnings per share. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on NSC. Citigroup dropped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $316.00 to $307.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. UBS Group dropped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $321.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $299.70.

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.