Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. Sells 85 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,139 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 85 shares during the period. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,910,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Czech National Bank raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 7.0% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 46,058 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $11,445,000 after purchasing an additional 3,008 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Saxon Interests Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $208,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 17.0% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,622 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,142,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 5.4% during the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,354 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $818,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NSC. UBS Group lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $251.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $206.71 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $247.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $249.49. The company has a market capitalization of $56.86 billion, a PE ratio of 21.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.35.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. Research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at $2,580,979.50. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.