Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Sold by Strs Ohio

Strs Ohio cut its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,237 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 8,568 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $15,993,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.2% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,561,273 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $5,263,069,000 after purchasing an additional 239,914 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 10,859,121 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,779,609,000 after buying an additional 192,567 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,822,075 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,228,064,000 after buying an additional 36,362 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 4,182,921 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,070,702,000 after buying an additional 184,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,289,431 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $841,994,000 after acquiring an additional 201,861 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $354.00 to $297.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Zacks Research downgraded Norfolk Southern from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $303.00 to $301.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $303.52.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $287.31 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $289.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $284.93. The company has a market capitalization of $64.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.92, a PEG ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 1.33. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1-year low of $201.63 and a 1-year high of $302.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.31 by ($0.01). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 24.22% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director William Jr. Clyburn acquired 204 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $294.79 per share, with a total value of $60,137.16. Following the purchase, the director owned 405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $119,389.95. The trade was a 101.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Anil Bhatt sold 900 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.60, for a total transaction of $253,440.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $397,900.80. The trade was a 38.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have acquired 4,454 shares of company stock valued at $1,259,874 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.