Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Has $144.66 Million Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 3.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 504,042 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 20,626 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $144,660,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NSC. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the first quarter worth $3,272,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 43,408 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $12,533,000 after acquiring an additional 3,887 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $184,752,000. Angelo Gordon & CO. L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,464,000. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 126.6% in the 3rd quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 15,413 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,630,000 after purchasing an additional 8,612 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $322.00 to $313.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $330.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $335.00 to $351.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $308.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $323.72.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $323.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $312.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $302.83. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $257.49 and a fifty-two week high of $326.00. The firm has a market cap of $72.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.25, a P/E/G ratio of 5.87 and a beta of 1.27.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 21.91%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.69 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 45.49%.

Norfolk Southern Profile

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.