Earnings Preview: Norfolk Southern EPS, Revenue Expected to Rise from Previous Quarter

Norfolk Southern NSC releases its next round of earnings this Tuesday, July 26, 2011. Here's Benzinga's advanced look at Norfolk Southern's second quarter earnings report.

Earnings and Revenue:

Based on estimates, investors are readying for a positive EPS reading of $1.28 per share and revenues of $2.75 billion. Wall Street will be looking to see how this quarter's numbers compare to the year-ago quarter's positive EPS of $1.04 per share on revenues of $2.43 billion. We'll have to wait for Tuesday to see if Norfolk Southern falls in line with analyst expectations and reports an estimated increase in both EPS and revenue from the year-ago quarter.

Here's how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Quarter	Q1	Q4	Q3	Q2
EPS Estimate	$0.90	$1.04	$1.09	$0.99
EPS Actual	$0.90	$1.00	$1.19	$1.04

Stock Performance:

As of July 20, 2011, Norfolk Southern's current share price was $75.09. Since January 1st, shares of Norfolk Southern have given investors a return of 21%. For a full 12 months, the return has risen by 25.9%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably satisfied going into this earnings release.

• Long-term shareholders are already enjoying 12-month gains prior to the announcement

Average Stock Rating:

The average rating by analysts for Norfolk Southern is a Moderate Buy. The strength of this rating has crept upwards over the past three months.

Competitors:

Looking for a sympathy stock to trade or interested in the performance of other companies in the same sector? Take a look at some of Norfolk Southern's peers.

• Canadian National Railway (USA CNI: Hold with a $0.85 recent quarter EPS
• Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (USA CP: Hold with a $0.19 recent quarter EPS
• CSX CSX: Moderate Buy with a $0.46 recent quarter EPS
• Kansas City Southern KSU: Moderate Buy with a $0.58 recent quarter EPS

Norfolk Southern is in the transportation-rail industry, which has experienced price/earnings growth of 1.1%.

Finally, a description of the company's main areas of operation: Norfolk Southern is engaged in rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods.

Take Action:

There is your peek into Norfolk Southern's upcoming earnings numbers, including some competitors to watch around the time of the announcement. Check back in with us after the announcement for a full recap of the announcement. In the meantime, here are some links to explore today.

• To see up-to-date news on Norfolk Southern, click here
• To see other trading ideas, click here
• To see other company earnings recaps, click here