Orrstown Financial Services Inc. Cuts Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Orrstown Financial Services Inc. reduced its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,042 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 70 shares during the period. Orrstown Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $245,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 18,831.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,298,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $819,553,000 after acquiring an additional 3,280,579 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $222,025,000 after purchasing an additional 889,925 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 48.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,702,344 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $671,532,000 after purchasing an additional 881,415 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth $207,830,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $122,798,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on NSC. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 SEC, which is available at this link. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC traded up $9.59 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $261.91. 324,526 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,163,732. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $249.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $248.64. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $206.71 and a 52-week high of $277.60. The company has a market capitalization of $59.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.49, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.70%.

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.