Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 113 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,694 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 113 shares during the quarter. Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $670,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $63,417,000 after acquiring an additional 8,844 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 20.5% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,428 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,556,000 after purchasing an additional 2,453 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 533,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $132,565,000 after purchasing an additional 3,621 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $222,025,000 after buying an additional 889,925 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grandview Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $918,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NSC. Bank of America boosted their target price 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. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Loop Capital raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One investment 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 MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $256.47 on Friday. 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 current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $58.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.08, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $249.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $247.33.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,580,979.50. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

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.