Norfolk Southern Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:NSC)

Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors purchased 8,606 call options on the company. This is an increase of 305% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,127 call options.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $240.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $252.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $232.18. The company has a market cap of $59.26 billion, a PE ratio of 30.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern has a 12-month low of $183.09 and a 12-month high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 21.06% and a net margin of 15.03%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.32 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 11.93 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NSC. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 29th. Barclays raised Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $305.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.32.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Equitable Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.6% in the first quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 2,484 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $633,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. HTLF Bank raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. HTLF Bank now owns 2,521 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $643,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,811 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,845,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter valued at $206,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 40,946 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $10,436,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

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.