Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 346 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,796 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 346 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,134,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Provence Wealth Management Group acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 662.5% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays raised shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $305.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.1 %

NSC stock traded down $0.31 during trading on Friday, reaching $240.52. The stock had a trading volume of 224,743 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,276,038. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $183.09 and a one year high of $263.66. The company’s 50 day moving average is $252.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $232.18. The company has a market capitalization of $59.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.93 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

About Norfolk Southern

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.