Arkansas Financial Group Inc. Lowers Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Arkansas Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,171 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 83 shares during the period. Arkansas Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $510,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 723 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,449 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $340,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 3,902 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $964,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 112,037 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $26,295,000 after acquiring an additional 1,628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth $116,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on NSC shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $263.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC opened at $256.47 on Friday. 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 $58.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.08, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company’s 50 day moving average is $249.90 and its 200 day moving average is $247.33.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.78 EPS for the current year.

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.