Zacks Research Lifts Earnings Estimates for Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) – Research analysts at Zacks Research increased their Q3 2025 earnings estimates for shares of Norfolk Southern in a report released on Wednesday, May 14th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the railroad operator will post earnings per share of $3.40 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $3.39. The consensus estimate for Norfolk Southern’s current full-year earnings is $13.00 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Norfolk Southern’s Q1 2026 earnings at $3.02 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $3.87 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $3.59 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $14.04 EPS and Q1 2027 earnings at $3.24 EPS.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $269.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $259.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $266.50.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $244.23 on Monday. Norfolk Southern has a 52 week low of $201.63 and a 52 week high of $277.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market cap of $55.06 billion, a PE ratio of 21.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $226.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $242.38.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.49 EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,694,573 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,098,472,000 after purchasing an additional 113,648 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,796,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,678 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,333,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Clarendon Private LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $309,000. Finally, Ausbil Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth $4,703,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.89%.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

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.