Norfolk Southern (NSC) Set to Announce Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) is scheduled to be announcing its earnings results after the market closes on Thursday, July 25th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $2.95 per share for the quarter. Individual that are interested in registering for the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.32 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect Norfolk Southern to post $12 EPS for the current fiscal year and $13 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.7 %

NYSE NSC opened at $224.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $50.66 billion, a PE ratio of 36.11, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.68. Norfolk Southern has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $222.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $237.58.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $245.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $277.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $263.53.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,534,750. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 2,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $219.25 per share, with a total value of $438,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,534,750. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $1,902,593.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.