Norfolk Southern
Market Cap
US$38.1b
Last Updated
2020/03/31 01:07 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.
Rewards
Risk Analysis
Snowflake Analysis
Established dividend payer with proven track record.
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's share price has been volatile over the past 3 months.
Market Performance
7 Day Return
5.7%
NSC
6.2%
US Transportation
7.2%
US Market
1 Year Return
-23.2%
NSC
-18.4%
US Transportation
-10.4%
US Market
Return vs Industry: NSC underperformed the US Transportation industry which returned -21.2% over the past year.
Return vs Market: NSC underperformed the US Market which returned -12.7% over the past year.
Shareholder returns
| NSC | Industry | Market | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Day | 5.7% | 6.2% | 7.2% |
| 30 Day | -18.7% | -14.1% | -12.6% |
| 90 Day | -23.6% | -18.8% | -19.4% |
| 1 Year | -21.7%-23.2% | -16.9%-18.4% | -8.5%-10.4% |
| 3 Year | 36.5%28.7% | 28.5%22.3% | 15.8%8.3% |
| 5 Year | 58.9%42.0% | 36.0%35.4% | 35.8%21.0% |
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
What Kind Of Shareholder Appears On The Norfolk Southern Corporation's (NYSE:NSC) Shareholder Register?2 weeks ago | Simply Wall St
What Is Norfolk Southern's (NYSE:NSC) P/E Ratio After Its Share Price Tanked?3 weeks ago | Simply Wall St
Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Takes On Some Risk With Its Use Of DebtValuation
Is Norfolk Southern undervalued compared to its fair value and its price relative to the market?
4.0%
Undervalued compared to fair value
Share Price vs. Fair Value
Below Fair Value: NSC ($143.36) is trading below our estimate of fair value ($153.62)
Significantly Below Fair Value: NSC is trading below fair value, but not by a significant amount.
Price To Earnings Ratio
PE vs Industry: NSC is good value based on its PE Ratio (13.9x) compared to the Transportation industry average (17.7x).
PE vs Market: NSC is poor value based on its PE Ratio (13.9x) compared to the US market (13x).
Price to Earnings Growth Ratio
PEG Ratio: NSC is poor value based on its PEG Ratio (2.4x)
Price to Book Ratio
PB vs Industry: NSC is overvalued based on its PB Ratio (2.4x) compared to the US Transportation industry average (1.8x).
Next Steps
Future Growth
How is Norfolk Southern forecast to perform in the next 1 to 3 years based on estimates from 19 analysts?
5.7%
Forecasted annual earnings growth
Earnings and Revenue Growth Forecasts
Analyst Future Growth Forecasts
Earnings vs Savings Rate: NSC's forecast earnings growth (5.7% per year) is above the savings rate (1.7%).
Earnings vs Market: NSC's earnings (5.7% per year) are forecast to grow slower than the US market (12.3% per year).
High Growth Earnings: NSC's earnings are forecast to grow, but not significantly.
Revenue vs Market: NSC's revenue (1.7% per year) is forecast to grow slower than the US market (7.3% per year).
High Growth Revenue: NSC's revenue (1.7% 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 low in 3 years time (19.1%).
Next Steps
Past Performance
How has Norfolk Southern performed over the past 5 years?
18.0%
Historical annual earnings growth
Earnings and Revenue History
Quality Earnings: NSC has high quality earnings.
Growing Profit Margin: NSC's current net profit margins (24.1%) are higher than last year (23.2%).
Past Earnings Growth Analysis
Earnings Trend: NSC's earnings have grown by 18% per year over the past 5 years.
Accelerating Growth: NSC's earnings growth over the past year (2.1%) is below its 5-year average (18% per year).
Earnings vs Industry: NSC earnings growth over the past year (2.1%) exceeded the Transportation industry -12.4%.
Return on Equity
High ROE: NSC's Return on Equity (17.9%) is considered low.
Next Steps
Financial Health
How is Norfolk Southern's financial position?
Financial Position Analysis
Short Term Liabilities: NSC's short term assets ($2.1B) do not cover its short term liabilities ($2.3B).
Long Term Liabilities: NSC's short term assets ($2.1B) do not cover its long term liabilities ($20.4B).
Debt to Equity History and Analysis
Debt Level: NSC's debt to equity ratio (82.1%) is considered high.
Reducing Debt: NSC's debt to equity ratio has increased from 74.7% to 82.1% over the past 5 years.
Debt Coverage: NSC's debt is well covered by operating cash flow (31.2%).
Interest Coverage: NSC's interest payments on its debt are well covered by EBIT (6.7x coverage).
Balance Sheet
Inventory Level: NSC has a high level of physical assets or inventory.
Debt Coverage by Assets: NSC's debt is not covered by short term assets (assets are 0.2x debt).
Next Steps
Dividend
What is Norfolk Southern's current dividend yield, its reliability and sustainability?
2.54%
Current Dividend Yield
Dividend Yield vs Market
Notable Dividend: NSC's dividend (2.62%) is higher than the bottom 25% of dividend payers in the US market (1.98%).
High Dividend: NSC's dividend (2.62%) is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the US market (5.49%).
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 (34.9%), 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 (32.9% payout ratio).
Next Steps
Management
How experienced are the management team and are they aligned to shareholders interests?
2.4yrs
Average management tenure
CEO
Jim Squires (58yo)
4.67s
Tenure
US$14,271,985
Compensation
Mr. James A. Squires, also known as Jim, has been the Chief Executive Officer of Norfolk Southern Corporation since June 1, 2015, has been its President since June 1, 2013 and has been its Chairman since O ...
CEO Compensation Analysis
Compensation vs Market: Jim's total compensation ($USD14.27M) is about average for companies of similar size in the US market ($USD11.74M).
Compensation vs Earnings: Jim's compensation has been consistent with company performance over the past year.
Leadership Team
| Name | Position | Tenure | Compensation | Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chairman | 4.67yrs | US$14.27m | 0.054% $20.4m | |
| Executive VP & COO | 4yrs | US$4.86m | 0.0085% $3.2m | |
| Executive VP & Chief Marketing Officer | 4.83yrs | US$3.93m | 0.0089% $3.4m | |
| Executive VP & Chief Strategy Officer | 0.83yr | US$2.66m | 0.0039% $1.5m | |
| Executive VP of Finance & CFO | 0.25yr | no data | no data | |
| VP of Information Technology & Chief Information Officer | 2.42yrs | no data | no data | |
| Director of Investor Relations | no data | no data | no data | |
| Vice President of Audit & Compliance | 3yrs | no data | no data | |
| Executive Vice President & Chief Legal Officer | 0.83yr | no data | 0.00016% $61.0k | |
| Executive VP & Chief Transformation Officer | 0.83yr | no data | 0.0027% $1.0m |
2.4yrs
Average Tenure
51yo
Average Age
Experienced Management: NSC's management team is considered experienced (2.4 years average tenure).
Board Members
| Name | Position | Tenure | Compensation | Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chairman | 4.67yrs | US$14.27m | 0.054% $20.4m | |
| Independent Director | 10.17yrs | US$281.67k | 0.0012% $446.1k | |
| Independent Director | 14.17yrs | US$276.67k | 0.0015% $583.3k | |
| Lead Independent Director | 6.83yrs | US$310.21k | 0.0012% $446.1k | |
| Independent Director | 3.25yrs | US$251.67k | no data | |
| Independent Director | 11.42yrs | US$266.67k | 0.0014% $552.8k | |
| Independent Director | 6.17yrs | US$278.97k | 0.0012% $446.1k | |
| Independent Director | 7yrs | US$241.67k | 0.0012% $469.0k | |
| Independent Director | 3.25yrs | US$245.42k | 0.000010% $3.8k | |
| Independent Director | 2.17yrs | US$246.67k | 0.00020% $76.3k |
6.5yrs
Average Tenure
67yo
Average Age
Experienced Board: NSC's board of directors are considered experienced (6.5 years average tenure).
Ownership
Who are the major shareholders and have insiders been buying or selling?
Insider Trading Volume
Insider Buying: NSC insiders have only sold shares 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$38.126b
- Shares outstanding: 257.10m
- Website: https://www.norfolksouthern.com
Number of Employees
Location
- Norfolk Southern Corporation
- Three Commercial Place
- Norfolk
- Virginia
- 23510-2191
- United States
Listings
| Ticker | Exchange | Primary Security | Security Type | Country | Currency | Listed on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSC | NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) | Yes | Common Stock | US | USD | Jun 1982 |
| NFS | DB (Deutsche Boerse AG) | Yes | Common Stock | DE | EUR | Jun 1982 |
| NFS | XTRA (XETRA Trading Platform) | Yes | Common Stock | DE | EUR | Jun 1982 |
| 0K8M | LSE (London Stock Exchange) | Yes | Common Stock | GB | USD | Jun 1982 |
| NSC * | BMV (Bolsa Mexicana de Valores) | Yes | Common Stock | MX | MXN | Jun 1982 |
| NSCO | WBAG (Wiener Boerse AG) | Yes | Common Stock | AT | EUR | Jun 1982 |
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 industrial products, including chemicals, agriculture, and metals and construction materials; and coal, automobiles, and automotive parts. It also transports overseas freight through various Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports; and provides commuter passenger services. As of December 31, 2019, the company operated approximately 19,500 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia. Norfolk Southern Corporation was incorporated in 1980 and is based in Norfolk, Virginia.
Company Analysis and Financial Data Status
| Data | Last Updated (UTC time) |
|---|---|
| Company Analysis | 2020/03/31 01:07 |
| End of Day Share Price | 2020/03/30 00:00 |
| Earnings | 2019/12/31 |
| Annual Earnings | 2019/12/31 |
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.