Zacks Research Has Negative Forecast for NSC FY2025 Earnings

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Zacks Research lowered their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Norfolk Southern in a report released on Tuesday, July 22nd. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the railroad operator will post earnings of $12.52 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $12.59. 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 Q4 2025 earnings at $3.27 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $3.00 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $3.54 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $3.83 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $3.56 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $13.92 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $3.23 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $3.86 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $14.79 EPS.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.65% and a net margin of 27.40%. The business's quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.49 EPS.

NSC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $278.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Barclays decreased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Baird R W raised Norfolk Southern to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $282.50.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC traded up $4.73 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $282.73. The company had a trading volume of 4,530,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,849,920. Norfolk Southern has a 12-month low of $201.63 and a 12-month high of $288.11. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $255.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $242.91. The stock has a market cap of $63.74 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.89%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 31.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,319,010 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $2,680,910,000 after acquiring an additional 2,710,930 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $547,575,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth approximately $321,393,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 25,555.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 989,796 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $234,433,000 after purchasing an additional 985,938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 341.9% in the first quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 789,950 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $187,100,000 after purchasing an additional 611,198 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

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.