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. Individual that wish to listen to the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior 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 Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $252.37 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $247.82 and its 200 day moving average is $236.66. The stock has a market cap of $57.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern has a 1-year low of $183.09 and a 1-year high of $263.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This 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 on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost 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 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 owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $294.00 target price for the company. Susquehanna raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.