New Hampshire Trust Decreases Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

New Hampshire Trust decreased its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,448 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 236 shares during the period. New Hampshire Trust’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,044,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position 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 during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $222,025,000 after acquiring an additional 889,925 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 48.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,702,344 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $671,532,000 after acquiring an additional 881,415 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $207,830,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $122,798,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $263.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:NSC opened at $245.39 on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $206.71 and a one year high of $277.60. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $251.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $246.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.04, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 350 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction 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 purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.