Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Announces Earnings Results

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.20, Briefing.com reports. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.77% and a net margin of 14.85%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.95 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC stock traded up $24.32 during trading on Friday, reaching $247.22. 2,993,456 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,060,314. Norfolk Southern has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The company has a market capitalization of $55.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $222.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $237.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $219.25 per share, with a total value 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Claude Mongeau acquired 5,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $221.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,248,650.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $4,420,000. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 price of $219.25 per share, with a total value of $438,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,534,750. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Susquehanna raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $277.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.65.

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.