Norfolk Southern Corp. NSC Stock Analysis

Norfolk Southern Corp. stock trades under the ticker NSC & has shown recent bullishness that traders & investors should take a closer look at.

NSC stock closed at $265.85/share on 4/28/2022.

Norfolk Souther Corp. NSC Stock’s Technicals Broken Down

Norfolk Southern Corp. NSC Stock's Technical Performance Over The Last Year

NSC Stock Price: $265.85

10 Day Moving Average: $262.95

50 Day Moving Average: $268.03

200 Day Moving Average: $268.44

RSI: 50.38

MACD: -2.448

Yesterday, NSC stock completed a bullish MACD crossover, breaking out & closing above its 10 day moving average.

It was unable to close at its 50 & 200 day moving average levels, despite bouncing off of them during the day.

With above average trading volume & an RSI that is neutral, they look to have more upward momentum in the near-term.

They will need to test & break through the $263.06, $264.64 & $265.19/share resistance levels as they continue climbing.

Norfolk Southern Corp. NSC Stock As A Long-Term Investment

Long-term oriented investors will like NSC stock’s P/E (ttm) of 21.35, but may find their P/B (mrq) of 4.92 to be a bit rich.

They recently reported 10.8% Quarterly Revenue Growth & 13.3% Quarterly Earnings Growth Y-o-Y.

Their balance sheet will require a closer examination, with $839M in Total Cash (mrq) & $14.79B in Total Debt (mrq).

NSC stock pays a 1.58% dividend, which appears to be stable in the long-term, with a 34.35% payout ratio.

76.64% of NSC stock’s outstanding share float is owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Souther Corp. NSC Stock As A Short-Term Trade Using Options

Short-term oriented traders can use options to hedge against broader market volatility, while also profiting from price movements in any direction for NSC stock.

I am looking at the contracts with the 5/20 expiration date.

The $260, $262.50 & $265 calls all look appealing, but are relatively low in open interest at the moment.

Given that NSC has weekly expirations though, that will change in the near-term as more expiration dates pass by.

The $272.50, $270 & $267.50 puts also look appealing, but have a similar open interest situation that looks to improve in the coming weeks.

Tying It All Together

NSC stock has characteristics that traders & investors will both find appealing.

Investors will like their dividend yield & P/E (ttm), but may be wary of their balance sheet.

Traders will like their current momentum path & weekly expiration dates for their contracts, but will be disappointed by the limited levels of open interest their further out dated contracts have.

All-in-all, it is worth taking a closer look at NSC stock to see how it fits in with your portfolio strategy.

*** I DO NOT OWN SHARES OF NSC STOCK AT THE TIME OF WRITING THIS ARTICLE ***