Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Monarch Capital Management Inc.

Monarch Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,700 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 270 shares during the period. Monarch Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $634,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $245.39 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $55.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $251.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $246.41. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $206.71 and a 52 week high of $277.60. 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 (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,550,000. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern 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.