Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Releases Q1 2024 Earnings Guidance

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) updated its first quarter 2024 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided EPS guidance of 2.490-2.490 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 2.610. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Norfolk Southern also updated its Q1 guidance to $2.49 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley cut Norfolk Southern from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and cut their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a buy rating to a hold rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $233.00 in a report on Monday, January 29th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the stock from $238.00 to $302.00 in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and upped their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $305.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $257.41.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:NSC opened at $253.39 on Wednesday. Norfolk Southern has a one year low of $183.09 and a one year high of $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $62.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $253.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $228.62.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.87 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 21.06% and a net margin of 15.03%. The company’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.42 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 12.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.33%.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dodge & Cox grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 28.2% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 8,233,372 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,946,204,000 after purchasing an additional 1,810,658 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,861,818 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,385,618,000 after purchasing an additional 104,502 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.3% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,112,708 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $869,600,000 after purchasing an additional 13,513 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 95,518.3% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,028,232 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $746,217,000 after purchasing an additional 3,025,065 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 33.5% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,546,214 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $627,438,000 after acquiring an additional 638,384 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.