Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Buys 1,628 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 112,037 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,628 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $26,295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25.1% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 18,307 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,930,000 after buying an additional 3,676 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 39.5% during the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 100,321 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $21,538,000 after purchasing an additional 28,432 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 225.6% during the second quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 25,978 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,204,000 after purchasing an additional 18,000 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 315.2% in the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 138,672 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $29,771,000 after purchasing an additional 105,272 shares during the period. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1,699.7% in the 2nd quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 16,017 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,439,000 after buying an additional 15,127 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $254.91 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $249.73 and a 200-day moving average of $247.39. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $206.71 and a one year high of $277.60. The stock has a market cap of $57.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its 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 net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Benchmark upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 350 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.