Norfolk Southern (NSC) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) is a transportation company that operates one of the largest freight railroad networks in the eastern United States. Through its Norfolk Southern Railway subsidiary, the company provides rail transportation and related services across a broad territory spanning portions of the Midwest, South and East Coast, including access to major industrial centers, ports and distribution markets.

Norfolk Southern transports a diverse range of commodities, including intermodal freight, merchandise, automotive products, coal and other energy-related materials. Its merchandise business serves industries such as agriculture, chemicals, construction, forest products, metals and manufacturing. The company also supports supply chains through intermodal services, which combine rail transportation with truck and container networks.

The modern Norfolk Southern system was established in 1982 through the consolidation of Southern Railway and Norfolk and Western Railway. In addition to its rail network, the company operates terminals and logistics facilities that connect shippers with domestic and international markets. Norfolk Southern is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, and is led by President and Chief Executive Officer Mark R. George.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $323.43 to $328.10
• 50-Day Range: $309.47 to $352.91
• 52-Week Range: $277.80 to $358.60
• Volume: 724,307 shs
• Average Volume: 763,506 shs
• Market Capitalization: $72.74 billion
• P/E Ratio: 25.76
• Dividend Yield: 1.67%
• Price Target: $346.94
• Consensus Rating: Hold

Norfolk Southern Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Norfolk Southern scored higher than 78% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 275th out of 651 stocks in the industrials sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 2.7 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Hold

Consensus Rating

Norfolk Southern has received a consensus rating of Hold. The company's average rating score is 2.33, and is based on no strong buy ratings, 7 buy ratings, 14 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Upside/Downside

The consensus price target for Norfolk Southern is close to its current price, suggesting limited near-term upside or downside.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Norfolk Southern has been the subject of 12 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 1.9 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 8.27%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Norfolk Southern are expected to grow by 8.27% in the coming year, from $12.81 to $13.87 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Norfolk Southern is 25.76, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 40.31.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Norfolk Southern is 25.76, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the Industrials sector average P/E ratio of about 22.65.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

Norfolk Southern has a PEG Ratio of 4.87. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Norfolk Southern has a P/B Ratio of 4.67. P/B Ratios above 3 indicate that a company could be overvalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 4.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

3.19% of the float of Norfolk Southern has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Norfolk Southern has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 7.63.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Norfolk Southern has recently decreased by 6.13%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Moderate

Dividend Yield

Norfolk Southern pays a meaningful dividend of 1.65%, higher than the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

Dividend Growth

Norfolk Southern does not have a long track record of dividend growth.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of Norfolk Southern is 46.08%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, Norfolk Southern will have a dividend payout ratio of 38.93% next year. This indicates that Norfolk Southern will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

News and Social Media

• Score: 3.7 / 5
• News Sentiment: 0.93

News Sentiment

Norfolk Southern has a news sentiment score of 0.93. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.50 average news sentiment score of Industrials companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 7 news articles for Norfolk Southern this week, compared to 7 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

7 people have searched for NSC on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 17% compared to the previous 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

7 people have added Norfolk Southern to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 75% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 0.7 / 5
• Insider Trading: N/A

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Norfolk Southern insiders have not sold or bought any company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

0.08% of the stock of Norfolk Southern is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

75.10% of the stock of Norfolk Southern is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 7/23/2026
• Record date for 8/20 Dividend: 8/07/2026
• Ex-Dividend for 8/20 Dividend: 8/07/2026
• Dividend Payable: 8/20/2026
• Today: 10/19/2026
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 10/22/2026
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2026

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NYSE
• Sector: Industrials
• Industry: Ground Transportation
• Sub-Industry: Rail Transportation
• Current Symbol: NYSE:NSC
• CIK: 702165
• Web: www.norfolksouthern.com
• Phone: (855) 667-3655
• Fax: 757-629-2361
• Employees: 19,300
• Year Founded: 1827

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for Norfolk Southern: $346.94
• High Price Target: $400.00
• Low Price Target: $297.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +7.1%
• Consensus Rating: Hold
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.33
• Research Coverage: 21 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $11.72
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 25.76
• Forward P/E Ratio: 25.28
• P/E Growth: 4.87
• Net Income: $2.87 billion
• Net Margins: 21.02%
• Pretax Margin: 26.82%
• Return on Equity: 18.21%
• Return on Assets: 6.34%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.98
• Current Ratio: 0.83
• Quick Ratio: 0.73

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $12.18 billion
• Price / Sales: 5.97
• Cash Flow: $18.58 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 17.43
• Book Value: $69.29 per share
• Price / Book: 4.67

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 224,610,000
• Free Float: 224,428,000
• Market Cap: $72.74 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 1.29