Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.14 EPS

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.65 EPS.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Norfolk Southern stock traded down $3.45 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $256.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,553,996 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,259,925. Norfolk Southern has a 12-month low of $183.09 and a 12-month high of $263.66. The company has a market capitalization of $58.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.38, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $248.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $236.88.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 86.96%.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at $371,077.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was bought 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 owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,887,655. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen raised 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. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.