Mizuho Bank Ltd. Makes New $68,000 Investment in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 290 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $68,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. KCM Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $391,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $15,274,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $14,580,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $339,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 11,555 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,712,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stephens boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research 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 $272.74.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $210.78 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $206.71 and a 12-month high of $277.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $242.94 and a 200 day moving average of $248.34.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 46.71%.

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.