Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Norfolk Southern Corporation's short interest rose by 25.1% in August, reaching a total of 2,940,000 shares as of August 31, indicating increased bearish sentiment among investors.
• Analysts have varied opinions on the stock, with seven rating it as a buy and fourteen giving it a hold, while the average price target is currently set at $286.25.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.9% with a payout ratio of 36.49%.

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,940,000 shares, an increase 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 trading volume of 2,110,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Based on an average trading volume of 2,110,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NSC. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 31.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,319,010 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $2,680,910,000 after purchasing an additional 2,710,930 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $613,255,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $321,393,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 25,555.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 989,796 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $234,433,000 after acquiring an additional 985,938 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 550.6% during the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 983,366 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $251,712,000 after purchasing an additional 832,210 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $263.00 to $323.00 in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Benchmark cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $286.25.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC traded up $1.26 during trading on Friday, reaching $283.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,712,265 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,921,810. The firm has a market cap of $63.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.29. Norfolk Southern has a twelve month low of $201.63 and a twelve month high of $291.69. The business's fifty day moving average price is $277.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $251.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.24 by $0.05. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 27.51% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The firm had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. 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 fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors 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 36.49%.

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.