Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Newly Purchased by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 55,151 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $17,042,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Investment Partners LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,001,000. Aprio Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 20.2% during the third quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,436 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,212 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $375,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,593 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,346,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 6,659.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 122,339 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $37,803,000 after acquiring an additional 120,529 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NSC opened at $341.19 on Wednesday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a one year low of $277.80 and a one year high of $358.60. The company has a market cap of $76.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.60, a P/E/G ratio of 5.17 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $326.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $315.44.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.46 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.48 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.22% and a net margin of 20.70%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.80 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Citigroup increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $347.00 to $349.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $348.81.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

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.