Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Acquired by MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB

MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,507 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 196,249 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,580,925 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,133,828,000 after purchasing an additional 62,186 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 103,281 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 18,831.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,298,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $819,553,000 after purchasing an additional 3,280,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 881,415 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of NSC stock opened at $251.96 on Wednesday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $206.71 and a twelve month high of $277.60. The company has a market capitalization of $57.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.66, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $250.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $247.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.