Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Posted by George Bondi on May 24th, 2026

Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC – Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-three analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $319.8333.

Several research firms recently weighed in on NSC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $296.00 to $292.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $313.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $313.72 on Friday. Norfolk Southern has a 52 week low of $236.37 and a 52 week high of $323.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $70.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.43, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $300.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $297.19.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.16. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 21.91%.The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.69 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern will post 12.11 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,825,837 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $6,012,836,000 after acquiring an additional 272,651 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,710,549 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,803,630,000 after acquiring an additional 379,819 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,878,029 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,401,797,000 after acquiring an additional 36,205 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth $1,084,701,000. Finally, Pentwater Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP now owns 3,019,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $871,646,000 after acquiring an additional 269,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

About Norfolk Southern

(Get Free Report)

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.