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

Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors acquired 8,606 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 305% compared to the typical volume of 2,127 call options.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 3.6 %

NYSE:NSC opened at $236.14 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $58.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.24. Norfolk Southern has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $252.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $232.12.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 21.06%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.42 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Norfolk Southern will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NSC. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $1,116,000 after acquiring an additional 917 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter valued at about $204,000. Dakota Wealth Management boosted its holdings 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 valued at $1,758,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 279.6% during the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 7,414 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,889,000 after acquiring an additional 5,461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Pacific Financial boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 2,981 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $760,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $238.00 to $302.00 in a report on Monday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.74.

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.