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

Advocate Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm 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 reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $63,417,000 after buying an additional 8,844 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,428 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,556,000 after purchasing an additional 2,453 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 533,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $132,565,000 after purchasing an additional 3,621 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 889,925 shares during the period. Finally, Grandview Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $918,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $254.91 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $249.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $247.68. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $206.71 and a 12-month high of $277.60. The stock has a market cap of $57.67 billion, a PE ratio of 23.93, a P/E/G 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. The business’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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.68.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at $2,580,979.50. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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.