Trust Co. of Vermont Increases Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,245 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $7,333,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NSC. Benchmark boosted their price objective 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. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE NSC traded down $1.72 during trading on Friday, hitting $245.39. The stock had a trading volume of 1,024,019 shares, compared to its average volume of 970,692. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $251.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $246.19. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $206.71 and a one year high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.