Norfolk Southern (NSC) Expected to Announce Quarterly Earnings on Wednesday

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) will likely be posting its quarterly earnings results before the market opens on Wednesday, January 29th. Analysts expect Norfolk Southern to post earnings of $2.97 per share and revenue of $3,031,177.09 billion for the quarter. Individual that are interested in registering for the company's earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect Norfolk Southern to post $12 EPS for the current fiscal year and $13 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC traded down $0.11 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $251.74. 1,724,209 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,086,407. The firm has a market cap of $56.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.34. The stock's fifty day moving average is $250.25 and its 200 day moving average is $247.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Norfolk Southern has a one year low of $206.71 and a one year high of $277.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 10,350 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,580,979.50. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Benchmark increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $263.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $275.68.

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.