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

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14, Briefing.com reports. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC traded down $0.07 on Friday, hitting $253.35. 46,500 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,254,744. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $248.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $236.88. Norfolk Southern has a fifty-two week low of $183.76 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66. The firm has a market cap of $57.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 50.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Benchmark boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.16.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business’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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at $371,077.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by 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.