Zhang Financial LLC Buys 166 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Zhang Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 17.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,126 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 166 shares during the quarter. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $264,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. State Street Corp lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 196,249 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,580,925 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,133,828,000 after purchasing an additional 62,186 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.7% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position 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 worth $819,553,000 after purchasing an additional 3,280,579 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 48.4% in the third 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 last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was bought 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 directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $245.39 on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $206.71 and a 12 month high of $277.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The business’s 50-day moving average is $251.08 and its 200 day moving average is $246.84. The company has a market capitalization 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.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued 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 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 firm’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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 boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $263.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.68.

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.