Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Holdings Lowered by Gateway Investment Advisers LLC

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC reduced its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,082 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 145 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $6,121,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,330,849 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,318,716,000 after purchasing an additional 196,249 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,580,925 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,133,828,000 after buying an additional 62,186 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.7% in the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,892,717 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $967,340,000 after buying an additional 103,281 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 18,831.2% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,298,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $819,553,000 after buying an additional 3,280,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 48.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,702,344 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $671,532,000 after acquiring an additional 881,415 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $247.19 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $206.71 and a 52 week high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $55.92 billion, a PE ratio of 23.21, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $252.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $246.19.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter 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 fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.68.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at $2,580,979.50. This represents a 3.50 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.