Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) Short Interest Update

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) saw a large decline in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 8,726,471 shares, a decline of 17.9% from the February 26th total of 10,633,155 shares. Approximately 3.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,385,055 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $304.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $299.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $308.89.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 75.0% in the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 84 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 207.1% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 933.3% in the 4th quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 93 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock traded up $5.15 on Tuesday, hitting $287.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,141,065 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,315,155. The company has a market capitalization of $70.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.15 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern has a 52-week low of $201.63 and a 52-week high of $319.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $299.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $292.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.46. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 23.59% and a return on equity of 18.78%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.04 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 42.35%.

About Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.