Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,460,000 shares, a growth of 26.2% from the August 31st total of 1,950,000 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,210,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Richard H. Anderson acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $247.48 per share, for a total transaction of $494,960.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $742,440. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,887,655. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard H. Anderson bought 2,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $247.48 per share, with a total value of $494,960.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $742,440. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 956 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $226,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.8% during the second quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 1,516 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 7,716 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,656,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 12.4% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 381 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 1,477 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC stock traded up $2.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $248.50. 1,009,158 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,265,609. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The business has a 50-day moving average of $245.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $237.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.14 billion, a PE ratio of 40.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern has a 52 week low of $183.09 and a 52 week high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Norfolk Southern will post 11.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $265.17.

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.