Wesbanco Bank Inc. Sells 103 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. reduced its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,402 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 103 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,737,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at $2,580,979.50. This represents a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $256.47 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $206.71 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60. The stock has a market cap of $58.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.08, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $249.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $247.33.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on NSC. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. One equities 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 MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently 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.