Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Grows Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 14,428 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,453 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $3,556,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at about $1,676,000. Dakota Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 7,206 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,791,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at about $13,627,000. Broderick Brian C purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at about $956,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at about $846,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,550,000. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.16.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.5 %

NSC opened at $252.41 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $57.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $249.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $236.87. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $184.62 and a one year high of $263.66. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 50.70%.

Norfolk Southern 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.