Norfolk Southern
Market Cap
US$63.7b
Last Updated
2021/08/01 22:10 UTC
Data Sources
Company Financials +
Executive Summary
Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. More Details
Rewards
Risk Analysis
Snowflake Analysis
Established dividend payer with mediocre balance sheet.
Similar Companies
Share Price & News
How has Norfolk Southern's share price performed over time and what events caused price changes?
Latest Share Price and Events
Stable Share Price: NSC is less volatile than 75% of US stocks over the past 3 months, typically moving +/- 3% a week.
Volatility Over Time: NSC's weekly volatility (3%) has been stable over the past year.
Market Performance
7 Day Return
-2.8%
NSC
-0.4%
US Transportation
-0.4%
US Market
1 Year Return
34.1%
NSC
36.2%
US Transportation
35.9%
US Market
Return vs Industry: NSC underperformed the US Transportation industry which returned 36.2% over the past year.
Return vs Market: NSC underperformed the US Market which returned 35.9% over the past year.
Shareholder returns
| NSC | Industry | Market | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Day | -2.8% | -0.4% | -0.4% |
| 30 Day | -4.8% | -11.0% | -0.3% |
| 90 Day | -8.9% | -7.8% | 3.1% |
| 1 Year | 36.4%34.1% | 38.0%36.2% | 38.0%35.9% |
| 3 Year | 58.1%50.2% | 52.3%44.8% | 62.9%52.7% |
| 5 Year | 218.2%190.1% | 157.4%137.1% | 121.3%96.9% |
Long-Term Price Volatility Vs. Market
How volatile is Norfolk Southern's share price compared to the market and industry in the last 5 years?
Simply Wall St News
1 week ago | Simply Wall St
Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Has Gifted Shareholders With A Fantastic 226% Total Return On Their Investment3 weeks ago | Simply Wall St
Is Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Using Too Much Debt?1 month ago | Simply Wall St
Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Hasn't Managed To Accelerate Its ReturnsValuation
Is Norfolk Southern undervalued compared to its fair value and its price relative to the market?
23.81x
Price to Earnings (PE) ratio
Share Price vs. Fair Value
Below Fair Value: NSC ($257.83) is trading above our estimate of fair value ($192.11)
Significantly Below Fair Value: NSC is trading above our estimate of fair value.
Price To Earnings Ratio
PE vs Industry: NSC is poor value based on its PE Ratio (23.8x) compared to the US Transportation industry average (18.9x).
PE vs Market: NSC is poor value based on its PE Ratio (23.8x) compared to the US market (18.1x).
Price to Earnings Growth Ratio
PEG Ratio: NSC is poor value based on its PEG Ratio (3.8x)
Price to Book Ratio
PB vs Industry: NSC is overvalued based on its PB Ratio (4.4x) compared to the US Transportation industry average (2.2x).
Future Growth
How is Norfolk Southern forecast to perform in the next 1 to 3 years based on estimates from 25 analysts?
6.3%
Forecasted annual earnings growth
Earnings and Revenue Growth Forecasts
Analyst Future Growth Forecasts
Earnings vs Savings Rate: NSC's forecast earnings growth (6.3% per year) is above the savings rate (2%).
Earnings vs Market: NSC's earnings (6.3% per year) are forecast to grow slower than the US market (15% per year).
High Growth Earnings: NSC's earnings are forecast to grow, but not significantly.
Revenue vs Market: NSC's revenue (4.5% per year) is forecast to grow slower than the US market (9.2% per year).
High Growth Revenue: NSC's revenue (4.5% per year) is forecast to grow slower than 20% per year.
Earnings per Share Growth Forecasts
Future Return on Equity
Future ROE: NSC's Return on Equity is forecast to be high in 3 years time (22.3%)
Past Performance
How has Norfolk Southern performed over the past 5 years?
-0.2%
Historical annual earnings growth
Earnings and Revenue History
Quality Earnings: NSC has high quality earnings.
Growing Profit Margin: NSC's current net profit margins (25.9%) are higher than last year (20.4%).
Past Earnings Growth Analysis
Earnings Trend: NSC's earnings have declined by 0.2% per year over the past 5 years.
Accelerating Growth: NSC's earnings growth over the past year (30.4%) exceeds its 5-year average (-0.2% per year).
Earnings vs Industry: NSC earnings growth over the past year (30.4%) underperformed the Transportation industry 30.4%.
Return on Equity
High ROE: NSC's Return on Equity (19.1%) is considered low.
Financial Health
How is Norfolk Southern's financial position?
Financial Position Analysis
Short Term Liabilities: NSC's short term assets ($3.0B) exceed its short term liabilities ($2.8B).
Long Term Liabilities: NSC's short term assets ($3.0B) do not cover its long term liabilities ($21.6B).
Debt to Equity History and Analysis
Debt Level: NSC's debt to equity ratio (96.3%) is considered high.
Reducing Debt: NSC's debt to equity ratio has increased from 84.6% to 96.3% over the past 5 years.
Debt Coverage: NSC's debt is well covered by operating cash flow (28.8%).
Interest Coverage: NSC's interest payments on its debt are well covered by EBIT (6.5x coverage).
Balance Sheet
Dividend
What is Norfolk Southern current dividend yield, its reliability and sustainability?
1.54%
Current Dividend Yield
Dividend Yield vs Market
Notable Dividend: NSC's dividend (1.54%) is higher than the bottom 25% of dividend payers in the US market (1.31%).
High Dividend: NSC's dividend (1.54%) is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the US market (3.55%).
Stability and Growth of Payments
Stable Dividend: NSC's dividends per share have been stable in the past 10 years.
Growing Dividend: NSC's dividend payments have increased over the past 10 years.
Current Payout to Shareholders
Dividend Coverage: With its reasonably low payout ratio (35.6%), NSC's dividend payments are well covered by earnings.
Future Payout to Shareholders
Future Dividend Coverage: NSC's dividends in 3 years are forecast to be well covered by earnings (32.2% payout ratio).
Next Steps
Management
How experienced are the management team and are they aligned to shareholders interests?
2.3yrs
Average management tenure
CEO
Jim Squires (60 yo)
6.08yrs
Tenure
US$14,125,279
Compensation
Mr. James A. Squires, also known as Jim, has been the Chief Executive Officer of Norfolk Southern Corporation since June 1, 2015, has been its President since June 1, 2013 and has been its Chairman since O...
CEO Compensation Analysis
Compensation vs Market: Jim's total compensation ($USD14.13M) is about average for companies of similar size in the US market ($USD11.20M).
Compensation vs Earnings: Jim's compensation has been consistent with company performance over the past year.
Leadership Team
Experienced Management: NSC's management team is considered experienced (2.3 years average tenure).
Board Members
Experienced Board: NSC's board of directors are considered experienced (5.2 years average tenure).
Ownership
Who are the major shareholders and have insiders been buying or selling?
Insider Trading Volume
Insider Buying: NSC insiders have sold more shares than they have bought in the past 3 months.
Recent Insider Transactions
Ownership Breakdown
Dilution of Shares: Shareholders have not been meaningfully diluted in the past year.
Top Shareholders
Company Information
Norfolk Southern Corporation's company bio, employee growth, exchange listings and data sources
Key Information
- Name: Norfolk Southern Corporation
- Ticker: NSC
- Exchange: NYSE
- Founded: 1980
- Industry: Railroads
- Sector: Transportation
- Market Cap: US$63.677b
- Shares outstanding: 246.97m
- Website: https://www.norfolksouthern.com
Number of Employees
Location
- Norfolk Southern Corporation
- Three Commercial Place
- Norfolk
- Virginia
- 23510-2191
- United States
Listings
Biography
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 ind...
Company Analysis and Financial Data Status
| Data | Last Updated (UTC time) |
|---|---|
| Company Analysis | 2021/08/01 22:10 |
| End of Day Share Price | 2021/07/30 00:00 |
| Earnings | 2021/06/30 |
| Annual Earnings | 2020/12/31 |
Unless specified all financial data is based on a yearly period but updated quarterly. This is known as Trailing Twelve Month (TTM) or Last Twelve Month (LTM) Data. Learn more here.