Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Issues Earnings Results

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.07, Zacks reports. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.50%. Norfolk Southern updated its FY 2025 guidance to EPS.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NSC stock traded up $1.78 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $258.98. The company had a trading volume of 53,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,223,726. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $249.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $248.75. Norfolk Southern has a twelve month low of $206.71 and a twelve month high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $58.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.34.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.71%.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at $2,580,979.50. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on NSC shares. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.74.

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.