Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.65 EPS.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:NSC opened at $254.30 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.50 billion, a PE ratio of 23.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern has a 52 week low of $183.76 and a 52 week high of $263.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $248.76 and a 200-day moving average of $236.88.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $371,077.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total value of $13,138,173.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $371,077.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.16.

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.