Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) Short Interest Down 17.9% in March

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) saw a significant decrease in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 8,726,471 shares, a decrease of 17.9% from the February 26th total of 10,633,155 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,385,055 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.3 days. Currently, 3.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on NSC shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $340.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Argus raised shares of Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $317.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Evercore boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $299.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $309.95.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC traded up $2.78 during trading on Monday, hitting $286.03. 236,934 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,254,618. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43, a PEG ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern has a 12-month low of $201.63 and a 12-month high of $319.94. The business has a 50 day moving average of $299.95 and a 200-day moving average of $292.75.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.46. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 23.59% and a return on equity of 18.78%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 40.4% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,447 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,527,000 after acquiring an additional 1,855 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth $327,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 64.1% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 4,275 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,094,000 after buying an additional 1,670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth $481,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.