Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC)

Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 8,606 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 305% compared to the typical volume of 2,127 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on NSC shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 29th. UBS Group raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $238.00 to $302.00 in a research report on Monday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.74.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 26.5% during the 1st quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 4,378 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 917 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Bank acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth about $204,000. Dakota Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 6,899 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,758,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 279.6% in the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 7,414 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,889,000 after buying an additional 5,461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Pacific Financial grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 2,981 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $760,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $236.14 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $252.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $232.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Norfolk Southern has a one year low of $183.09 and a one year high of $263.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.14 billion, a PE ratio of 29.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.87 by ($0.04). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 21.06% and a net margin of 15.03%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.42 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 11.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.33%.

About Norfolk Southern

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.