Zacks Research Has Optimistic Outlook of NSC Q2 Earnings

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Zacks Research raised their Q2 2025 EPS estimates for shares of Norfolk Southern in a report released on Tuesday, July 22nd. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the railroad operator will earn $3.27 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $3.22. 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 Q3 2025 earnings at $3.30 EPS.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on NSC. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $271.00 to $270.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $259.00 to $288.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $282.50.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC stock traded up $4.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $282.73. The stock had a trading volume of 4,530,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,849,920. Norfolk Southern has a fifty-two week low of $201.63 and a fifty-two week high of $288.11. The firm has a market cap of $63.74 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $256.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $243.22.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Modern Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 21,410 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $5,025,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 7,471 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,753,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Norfolk Southern

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.