Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by First PREMIER Bank

First PREMIER Bank decreased its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,868 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 42 shares during the quarter. First PREMIER Bank’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $438,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,330,849 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,318,716,000 after buying an additional 196,249 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.4% in 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 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 valued at $967,340,000 after purchasing an additional 103,281 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings 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 boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 48.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,702,344 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $671,532,000 after buying an additional 881,415 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $251.74 on Thursday. 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 12 month low of $206.71 and a 12 month high of $277.60. The company has a market cap of $56.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $249.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $247.33.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.78 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired 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 $2,580,979.50. This trade represents a 3.50 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $263.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped 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. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.