Norfolk Southern (NSC) to Release Quarterly Earnings on Tuesday

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) will be issuing its quarterly earnings data before the market opens on Tuesday, October 22nd. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $3.11 per share for the quarter. Parties that are interested in participating in the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous 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 Trading Up 1.5 %

NSC opened at $253.84 on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern has a 12 month low of $183.09 and a 12 month high of $263.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $246.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $236.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market cap of $57.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.88, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 86.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total value of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Richard H. Anderson acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $247.48 per share, for a total transaction of $494,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $742,440. The trade was a 200.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total value of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on NSC. Citigroup began coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $294.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $276.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $266.17.

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.