Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Stock Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 487,002 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 11,287 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $150,484,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NSC. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $17,042,000. Investment Partners LTD. bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at $1,001,000. Aprio Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 20.2% in the third quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,436 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 3.8% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,212 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $375,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.9% during the third quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,593 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,346,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on NSC. Evercore lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $358.00 to $360.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $318.00 to $323.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $347.00 to $349.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $348.81.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $342.55 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.90. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $277.80 and a fifty-two week high of $358.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $326.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $314.88. The company has a market capitalization of $76.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.71, a PEG ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 1.20.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.46 by $0.16. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.22% and a net margin of 20.70%. The firm had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.80 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 6th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.26%.

About Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) is a transportation company that operates one of the largest freight railroad networks in the eastern United States. Through its Norfolk Southern Railway subsidiary, the company provides rail transportation and related services across a broad territory spanning portions of the Midwest, South and East Coast, including access to major industrial centers, ports and distribution markets.

Norfolk Southern transports a diverse range of commodities, including intermodal freight, merchandise, automotive products, coal and other energy-related materials.