Daiichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. Invests $1.76 Million in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Daiichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,586 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,757,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,825,837 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $6,012,836,000 after buying an additional 272,651 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $5,033,549,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,710,549 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,803,630,000 after acquiring an additional 379,819 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,878,029 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,401,797,000 after acquiring an additional 36,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth $1,084,701,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on NSC shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $363.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Norfolk Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $308.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $316.00 to $338.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC opened at $350.77 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.93, a PEG ratio of 6.21 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $328.23 and a 200-day moving average of $313.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12-month low of $268.23 and a 12-month high of $358.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.38 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.21% and a net margin of 21.02%.Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.29 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.08%.

About Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.