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

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The railroad operator reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09), Briefing.com reports. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:NSC traded down $0.89 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $239.94. 1,461,075 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 977,733. Norfolk Southern has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The business has a 50-day moving average of $251.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $232.49. The company has a market capitalization of $54.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.64, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 86.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on NSC shares. Barclays raised Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $277.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.32.

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.