Wesbanco Bank Inc. Cuts Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. lowered its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,402 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 103 shares during the quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,737,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,265 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $563,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 1,749 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $435,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 1,154 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 1,934 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 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 a number of research reports. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $263.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Susquehanna cut their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.68.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.8 %

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $256.47 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $249.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $247.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market cap of $58.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.34. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $206.71 and a 12 month high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.78 EPS for the current year.

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.