Norfolk Southern (NSC) to Release Quarterly Earnings on Tuesday

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

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $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 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $252.37 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $247.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $236.66. Norfolk Southern has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66. 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 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.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Benchmark boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target 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. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $266.17.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

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 transaction 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,887,655. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase 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.