Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH reduced its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 9.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,428 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 3,280,579 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $222,025,000 after buying an additional 889,925 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 48.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,702,344 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $671,532,000 after buying an additional 881,415 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $207,830,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $122,798,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased 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 approximately $2,580,979.50. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $263.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Norfolk Southern stock 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $249.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $247.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.02 billion, a PE ratio of 24.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.34.

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

About Norfolk Southern

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.