Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 362,888 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,468 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $85,598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $63,417,000 after buying an additional 8,844 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,796,000. Grandview Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $918,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,678 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,333,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, Clarendon Private LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $309,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.1 %

NSC opened at $235.51 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $245.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $249.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.33 billion, a PE ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $206.71 and a 12-month high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. As a group, research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.71%.

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.