CHICAGO TRUST Co NA Has $1.09 Million Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

CHICAGO TRUST Co NA cut its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,627 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 388 shares during the period. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,086,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $281,000. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 49,054 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $11,513,000 after buying an additional 2,996 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 3,859 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $906,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 45,033 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $11,191,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 21,409 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,025,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE:NSC traded up $2.04 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $235.98. The stock had a trading volume of 287,503 shares, compared to its average volume of 865,486. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $253.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $245.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.39 billion, a PE ratio of 22.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $206.71 and a 12 month high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NSC. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Susquehanna lowered their price objective 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. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $263.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. This trade represents a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.