Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Position Increased by Essex Savings Bank

Essex Savings Bank lifted its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,497 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Essex Savings Bank’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth $30,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NSC. UBS Group lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $240.55 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $54.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.34. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $206.71 and a 12 month high of $277.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $252.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $246.23.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.65 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 50.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.