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

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

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $240.69 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $252.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $232.18. The firm has a market cap of $59.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.01, a PEG 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 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company 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 yield of 2.24%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 67.33%.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,933,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,444,000. Pathstone Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 200.1% during the third quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 16,077 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,198,000 after acquiring an additional 10,719 shares during the last quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,973,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 9.8% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 187,259 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $36,877,000 after acquiring an additional 16,727 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $272.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.32.

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.