Norfolk Southern (NSC) Scheduled to Post Quarterly Earnings on Tuesday

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) is scheduled to be posting its quarterly earnings results before the market opens on Tuesday, October 22nd. Analysts expect Norfolk Southern to post earnings of $3.11 per share for the quarter. Persons that wish to listen to the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.95 EPS. On average, analysts expect Norfolk Southern to post $12 EPS for the current fiscal year and $14 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $252.37 on Friday. Norfolk Southern has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66. The company has a market cap of $57.01 billion, a PE ratio of 40.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.63. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $247.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $236.77.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.96%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at $1,887,655. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Richard H. Anderson acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $247.48 per share, for a total transaction of $494,960.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $742,440. This trade represents a 200.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,887,655. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on NSC. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup started coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $294.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $266.17.

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.