Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) Short Interest Up 25.1% in August

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,940,000 shares, a growth of 25.1% from the August 15th total of 2,350,000 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,110,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,110,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark downgraded Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Barclays upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $288.00 target price (up from $282.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut Norfolk Southern from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $286.25.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 883.3% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 177 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 3,571 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $846,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 71,463 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $16,925,000 after buying an additional 2,782 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,179 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $990,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 115,417 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $27,337,000 after buying an additional 3,163 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $278.04 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $277.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $251.01. Norfolk Southern has a 1-year low of $201.63 and a 1-year high of $291.69. The company has a market cap of $62.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.79, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.29.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.24 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 27.51%. Norfolk Southern has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.49%.

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.