Advocate Group LLC Has $736,000 Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Advocate Group LLC cut its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,138 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 69 shares during the quarter. Advocate Group LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,265 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $563,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 1,749 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 1,154 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 1,934 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the completion of 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Benchmark increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $254.91 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $249.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $247.68. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $206.71 and a 52 week high of $277.60. The company has a market capitalization of $57.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.93, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.34. 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 (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.