Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Sells 1,439 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. decreased its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 18.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,531 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 1,439 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during 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 increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,580,925 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,133,828,000 after purchasing an additional 62,186 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.7% during the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,892,717 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $967,340,000 after purchasing an additional 103,281 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $819,553,000 after purchasing an additional 3,280,579 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 881,415 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. This trade represents a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE NSC opened at $256.47 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $206.71 and a twelve month high of $277.60. The company has a market cap of $58.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.34. The business’s fifty day moving average is $249.90 and its 200 day moving average is $247.33.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NSC. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $263.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Loop Capital raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.68.

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.