Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC lessened its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,328 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 2,091 shares during the quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $4,536,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,330,849 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $2,318,716,000 after purchasing an additional 196,249 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,580,925 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,133,828,000 after buying an additional 62,186 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.7% in the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,892,717 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $967,340,000 after buying an additional 103,281 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew 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 worth $819,553,000 after buying an additional 3,280,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 48.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,702,344 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $671,532,000 after acquiring an additional 881,415 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
NSC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $275.68.
View Our Latest Research Report on Norfolk Southern
Shares of NSC stock opened at $247.19 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.34. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $206.71 and a twelve month high of $277.60. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $252.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $246.19.
Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) 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 business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.
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.
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
Before you consider Norfolk Southern, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Norfolk Southern wasn't on the list.
While Norfolk Southern currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.