Carnegie Investment Counsel Increases Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Carnegie Investment Counsel grew its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 8,860 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,079,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,011,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 5.6% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 53,474 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $11,480,000 after buying an additional 2,845 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 16,961 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,639,000 after buying an additional 2,246 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 267.6% in the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 5,110 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,097,000 after acquiring an additional 3,720 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $455,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 350 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the acquisition, the director now 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $245.39 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $251.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $246.19. The firm has a market cap of $55.52 billion, a PE ratio of 23.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $206.71 and a 52-week high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.65 earnings per share. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Benchmark lifted their price target 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. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “buy” 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.68.

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.