Busey Bank Has $1.38 Million Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Busey Bank lessened its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,894 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 255 shares during the period. Busey Bank’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 3,280,579 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $222,025,000 after buying an additional 889,925 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 48.4% in the 3rd 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 period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth approximately $207,830,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth approximately $122,798,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on NSC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $263.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $256.78 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $249.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $248.64. The company has a market cap of $58.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.11, 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $206.71 and a 1 year high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.78 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

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.