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Norfolk Southern Among Transportation's Biggest Movers on September 24, 2012
The Nasdaq has declined 0.7%, the S&P 500 is trading down 0.2% and the Dow has fallen 0.2% on a bad morning for the market. The transportation sector is a category of stocks relating to the transportation of goods or customers. It is made up of airlines, railroads and trucking companies. The performance of the transportation sector is sensitive to the price of oil. Because operations revolve around the use of vehicles, fuel prices represent a significant cost to transportation companies. As the price of oil rises, transportation companies will be expected to earn less. Inversely, these companies do well when the cost of fuel decreases.
Despite a bad day for the market overall so far, the Transportation sector (IYT) is up 0.7% and its biggest movers are currently:
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Slipping 2.5%, American Railcar Industries (Nasdaq:ARII) is currently trading at $30.42 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 27,480 shares. Price change alone is not enough to know how a stock is doing. Volume is an important secondary indicator used to confirm trends suggested by price movement. Investors can use valuation ratios as tools to estimate what kind of deal a particular investment is. The price/book value ratio provides a way of evaluating whether a stock is relatively cheap or expensive. ARII's stock is trading for more than its book value with a P/B ratio of 1.94. This may be a sign that the company is overvalued. Users need to be careful when applying this ratio though, as it is more useful for industrial companies that have a lot of tangible assets than it is for technology or consumer product companies that may not have much in the way of hard assets. SEE: Using The Price-To-Book Ratio To Evaluate Companies
After a decline of 1.7%, Golar LNG Limited (Nasdaq:GLNG) has hit a share price of $38.29. The company's volume is currently 144,928 shares for the day, 0.2 times the current daily average. High volume indicates a lot of investor interest while low volume indicates the opposite. Looking at a company's valuation ratios is a good way of getting a basic idea as to its value as an investment. The debt ratio measures the leverage of a company, and a company's leverage is a good way to assess risk. GLNG has a debt ratio of 71.3%, which is on the high side. As such, the company is highly leveraged and not highly liquid. However, one thing to note with this ratio: it isn't a pure measure of a company's debt (or indebtedness), as it also includes operational liabilities, such as accounts payable and taxes payable.
Currently trading at $16.02 per share, Seaspan (NYSE:SSW) has fallen 1.6%. The company's volume for the day so far is 63,106 shares. This is a sign that there will be less trading activity than there was yesterday. Volume is used to evaluate how meaningful the price movement of a stock is. Valuation ratios like the price to earnings (P/E) ratio, the price to earnings growth (PEG) ratio, the price to sales (P/S) ratio, the price to book (P/B) ratio, and the dividend yield are useful in determining how attractive a potential or existing investment is. The debt-equity (D/E) ratio compares the total liabilities for a company to its total shareholder equity. The D/E ratio for SSW is 283%. Generally, a high D/E ratio means that the company may have difficulty generating enough cash to pay off its debts. The D/E ratio percentage provides a much more dramatic perspective on a company's leverage position than the debt ratio percentage.
Genesee & Wyoming (NYSE:GWR) is at $65.40 per share after an increase of 1.4%. The company's volume is currently 144,581 shares for the day, 0.2 times its average over the past three months. Volume indicates the level of interest that investors have in a company at its current price. Investment valuation ratios can be very useful in estimating whether a stock price is too high, reasonable or a bargain investment opportunity. The price/sales ratio is used for spotting recovery situations or for double-checking that a company's growth has not become overvalued. The P/S ratio for GWR is a high 3.42. This could be a good sign if the share price increases. A limitation of the P/S ratio is that the price component measures only stock market captialization, while sales are a function of the entire capital structure, potentially leading to wide differences between levered and unlevered companies.
Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) has increased to a share price of $65.89, a 1.4% rise. The company's volume for the day so far is 1.5 million shares. A stock's volume conveys how excited investors are about it. A wide array of ratios can be used by investors to estimate the attractiveness of a potential or existing investment and get an idea of its valuation. A simple P/E ratio can reveal the stock's real market value and show how the valuation compares to its industry group or a benchmark like the S&P 500 Index. NSC's P/E ratio of 11.1 falls below the industry average of 17.19. Companies with low P/E ratios may find it easier to surprise the market to the upside, even if their financial performance is not as strong as that of companies with high P/E ratios. From the investor's perspective, a stock with a lower ratio is relatively cheaper than a stock with a higher ratio. SEE: How To Use The P/E Ratio And PEG To Tell The Future Of A Stock
GulfMark Offshore (NYSE:GLF) is trading at $32.89 per share, down 1.2%. So far today, the company's volume is 50,186 shares, 0.2 times the average daily volume. If a stock price moves on high volume, this means that the change is a significant one. A company's investment value can be estimated using valuation ratios such as the price to earnings (P/E) ratio, the price to earnings growth (PEG) ratio, the price to sales (P/S) ratio, the price to book (P/B) ratio, and the dividend yield. The capitalization ratio is calculated by dividing long-term debt by the sum of long-term debt and shareholders' equity. GLF has a low capitalization ratio of 25.4%. Low leverage is a significant balance sheet strength, a sign of a less risky investment. This ratio is considered to be one of the more meaningful of the "debt" ratios - it delivers the key insight into the use of leverage by a company.
Rising 1.2%, AMERCO (Nasdaq:UHAL) is currently trading at $104.13 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 21,078 shares. This is a sign that there will be less trading activity than there was yesterday. Volume is an important indicator in technical analysis as it is used to measure the worth of a market move. If the markets have made a strong price move either up or down the perceived strength of that move depends on the volume for that period. The higher the volume during that price move the more significant the move. Valuation ratios allow the investor to make a quick determination as to a company's investment value. The price/book value ratio is especially important for value investors as it can provide an indication of the true value of a company's assets at a time when its business model may be failing. UHAL's P/B ratio of 1.83 shows that its share price is higher than its book value. This high share price relative to asset value is likely to indicate that the company has been earning a very high return on its assets. To put things in perspective, should be made among companies in the same industry rather than across industries. SEE: Investment Valuation Ratios: Price/Book Value Ratio
The Bottom Line No matter the economic climate, Wall Street will always have stocks that make major moves each week. Daily stock performance should be weighed against historical performance and put in context of the market overall. Keep in mind that all these ratios should be compared against historical numbers and industry information in order to get a more complete picture.
Despite a bad day for the market overall so far, the Transportation sector (IYT) is up 0.7% and its biggest movers are currently:
| Company | Market Cap | Percentage Change |
| American Railcar Industries (Nasdaq:ARII) | $666.2 million | -2.5% |
| Golar LNG Limited (Nasdaq:GLNG) | $3.13 billion | -1.7% |
| Seaspan (NYSE:SSW) | $1.03 billion | -1.6% |
| Genesee & Wyoming (NYSE:GWR) | $2.64 billion | +1.4% |
| Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) | $20.77 billion | +1.4% |
| GulfMark Offshore (NYSE:GLF) | $897.2 million | -1.2% |
| AMERCO (Nasdaq:UHAL) | $2.02 billion | +1.2% |
Slipping 2.5%, American Railcar Industries (Nasdaq:ARII) is currently trading at $30.42 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 27,480 shares. Price change alone is not enough to know how a stock is doing. Volume is an important secondary indicator used to confirm trends suggested by price movement. Investors can use valuation ratios as tools to estimate what kind of deal a particular investment is. The price/book value ratio provides a way of evaluating whether a stock is relatively cheap or expensive. ARII's stock is trading for more than its book value with a P/B ratio of 1.94. This may be a sign that the company is overvalued. Users need to be careful when applying this ratio though, as it is more useful for industrial companies that have a lot of tangible assets than it is for technology or consumer product companies that may not have much in the way of hard assets. SEE: Using The Price-To-Book Ratio To Evaluate Companies
After a decline of 1.7%, Golar LNG Limited (Nasdaq:GLNG) has hit a share price of $38.29. The company's volume is currently 144,928 shares for the day, 0.2 times the current daily average. High volume indicates a lot of investor interest while low volume indicates the opposite. Looking at a company's valuation ratios is a good way of getting a basic idea as to its value as an investment. The debt ratio measures the leverage of a company, and a company's leverage is a good way to assess risk. GLNG has a debt ratio of 71.3%, which is on the high side. As such, the company is highly leveraged and not highly liquid. However, one thing to note with this ratio: it isn't a pure measure of a company's debt (or indebtedness), as it also includes operational liabilities, such as accounts payable and taxes payable.
Currently trading at $16.02 per share, Seaspan (NYSE:SSW) has fallen 1.6%. The company's volume for the day so far is 63,106 shares. This is a sign that there will be less trading activity than there was yesterday. Volume is used to evaluate how meaningful the price movement of a stock is. Valuation ratios like the price to earnings (P/E) ratio, the price to earnings growth (PEG) ratio, the price to sales (P/S) ratio, the price to book (P/B) ratio, and the dividend yield are useful in determining how attractive a potential or existing investment is. The debt-equity (D/E) ratio compares the total liabilities for a company to its total shareholder equity. The D/E ratio for SSW is 283%. Generally, a high D/E ratio means that the company may have difficulty generating enough cash to pay off its debts. The D/E ratio percentage provides a much more dramatic perspective on a company's leverage position than the debt ratio percentage.
Genesee & Wyoming (NYSE:GWR) is at $65.40 per share after an increase of 1.4%. The company's volume is currently 144,581 shares for the day, 0.2 times its average over the past three months. Volume indicates the level of interest that investors have in a company at its current price. Investment valuation ratios can be very useful in estimating whether a stock price is too high, reasonable or a bargain investment opportunity. The price/sales ratio is used for spotting recovery situations or for double-checking that a company's growth has not become overvalued. The P/S ratio for GWR is a high 3.42. This could be a good sign if the share price increases. A limitation of the P/S ratio is that the price component measures only stock market captialization, while sales are a function of the entire capital structure, potentially leading to wide differences between levered and unlevered companies.
Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) has increased to a share price of $65.89, a 1.4% rise. The company's volume for the day so far is 1.5 million shares. A stock's volume conveys how excited investors are about it. A wide array of ratios can be used by investors to estimate the attractiveness of a potential or existing investment and get an idea of its valuation. A simple P/E ratio can reveal the stock's real market value and show how the valuation compares to its industry group or a benchmark like the S&P 500 Index. NSC's P/E ratio of 11.1 falls below the industry average of 17.19. Companies with low P/E ratios may find it easier to surprise the market to the upside, even if their financial performance is not as strong as that of companies with high P/E ratios. From the investor's perspective, a stock with a lower ratio is relatively cheaper than a stock with a higher ratio. SEE: How To Use The P/E Ratio And PEG To Tell The Future Of A Stock
GulfMark Offshore (NYSE:GLF) is trading at $32.89 per share, down 1.2%. So far today, the company's volume is 50,186 shares, 0.2 times the average daily volume. If a stock price moves on high volume, this means that the change is a significant one. A company's investment value can be estimated using valuation ratios such as the price to earnings (P/E) ratio, the price to earnings growth (PEG) ratio, the price to sales (P/S) ratio, the price to book (P/B) ratio, and the dividend yield. The capitalization ratio is calculated by dividing long-term debt by the sum of long-term debt and shareholders' equity. GLF has a low capitalization ratio of 25.4%. Low leverage is a significant balance sheet strength, a sign of a less risky investment. This ratio is considered to be one of the more meaningful of the "debt" ratios - it delivers the key insight into the use of leverage by a company.
Rising 1.2%, AMERCO (Nasdaq:UHAL) is currently trading at $104.13 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 21,078 shares. This is a sign that there will be less trading activity than there was yesterday. Volume is an important indicator in technical analysis as it is used to measure the worth of a market move. If the markets have made a strong price move either up or down the perceived strength of that move depends on the volume for that period. The higher the volume during that price move the more significant the move. Valuation ratios allow the investor to make a quick determination as to a company's investment value. The price/book value ratio is especially important for value investors as it can provide an indication of the true value of a company's assets at a time when its business model may be failing. UHAL's P/B ratio of 1.83 shows that its share price is higher than its book value. This high share price relative to asset value is likely to indicate that the company has been earning a very high return on its assets. To put things in perspective, should be made among companies in the same industry rather than across industries. SEE: Investment Valuation Ratios: Price/Book Value Ratio
The Bottom Line No matter the economic climate, Wall Street will always have stocks that make major moves each week. Daily stock performance should be weighed against historical performance and put in context of the market overall. Keep in mind that all these ratios should be compared against historical numbers and industry information in order to get a more complete picture.
by
Investopedia Staff
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