Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.09 EPS

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09), Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 21.06%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.32 earnings per share.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC traded up $0.06 during trading on Thursday, reaching $236.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 387,558 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,270,625. The firm has a market cap of $58.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $252.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $232.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $272.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Susquehanna cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.32.

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.