Norfolk Southern (NSC) Stock Forecast & Price Target

$250.88 +3.97 (+1.61%)

Closing price 03:59 PM Eastern

Extended Trading

$250.74 -0.15 (-0.06%)

As of 07:20 PM Eastern

Norfolk Southern - Analysts' Recommendations and Stock Price Forecast (2025)

MarketBeat calculates consensus analyst ratings for stocks using the most recent rating from each Wall Street analyst that has rated a stock within the last twelve months. Each analyst's rating is normalized to a standardized rating score of 1 (sell), 2 (hold), 3 (buy) or 4 (strong buy). Analyst consensus ratings scores are calculated using the mean average of the number of normalized sell, hold, buy and strong buy ratings from Wall Street analysts. Each stock's consensus analyst rating is derived from its calculated consensus ratings score (0 to .5 = Strong Sell, .5 to 1 = Sell, 1 to 1.5 = Reduce, 1.5 to 2.5 = Hold, 2.5 to 3.0 = Moderate Buy, 3.0 to 3.5 = Buy, >3.5 = Strong Buy). MarketBeat's consensus price targets are a mean average of the most recent available price targets set by each analyst that has set a price target for the stock in the last twelve months. MarketBeat's consensus ratings and consensus price targets may differ from those calculated by other firms due to differences in methodology and available data.

Consensus Rating

Moderate Buy

Based on 21 Analyst Ratings

Sell
1

Hold
8

Buy
12

Based on 21 Wall Street analysts who have issued ratings for Norfolk Southern in the last 12 months, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy." Out of the 21 analysts, 1 has given a sell rating, 8 have given a hold rating, and 12 have given a buy rating for NSC.

Consensus Price Target

$267.24
6.52% Upside

According to the 21 analysts' twelve-month price targets for Norfolk Southern, the average price target is $267.24. The highest price target for NSC is $293.00, while the lowest price target for NSC is $175.00. The average price target represents a forecasted upside of 6.52% from the current price of $250.89.

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NSC Analyst Ratings Over Time

Type	Current Forecast 6/6/24 to 6/6/25	1 Month Ago 5/7/24 to 5/7/25	3 Months Ago 3/8/24 to 3/8/25	1 Year Ago 6/7/23 to 6/6/24
Strong Buy	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)
Buy	12 Buy rating(s)	12 Buy rating(s)	13 Buy rating(s)	13 Buy rating(s)
Hold	8 Hold rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)
Sell	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Sell rating(s)
Consensus Price Target	$267.24	$266.10	$276.95	$261.78
Forecasted Upside	6.52% Upside	20.89% Upside	13.56% Upside	16.50% Upside
Consensus Rating	Moderate Buy	Moderate Buy	Moderate Buy	Moderate Buy

NSC Analyst Recommendations By Month

The chart below shows how a company's ratings by analysts have changed over time. Each bar represents the previous year of ratings for that month. Within each bar, the sell ratings are shown in red, the hold ratings are shown in yellow, the buy ratings are shown in green, and the strong buy ratings are shown in dark green.

NSC Price Targets by Month

The chart below shows how a company's share price and consensus price target have changed over time. The dark blue line represents the company's actual price. The lighter blue line represents the stock's consensus price target. The even lighter blue range in the background of the two lines represents the low price target and the high price target for each stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock vs. The Competition

Type	Norfolk Southern	Transportation Companies	S&P 500
Consensus Rating Score	2.52	2.58	2.54
Consensus Rating	Moderate Buy	Moderate Buy	Moderate Buy
Predicted Upside	6.31% Upside	43.21% Upside	13.72% Upside
News Sentiment Rating	Positive News See Recent NSC News	Positive News	Positive News

Recent Analyst Forecasts and Stock Ratings

Rating

Upside/Downside

Action

Time Frame

Start Date

End Date

Show

Export to Excel

Date	Brokerage	Analyst Name	Action	Rating	Price Target	Upside/Downside on Report Date
6/2/2025	The Goldman Sachs Group 3 of 5 stars	Jordan Alliger Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Reiterated Rating	Buy ➝ Neutral	$278.00	+12.50%
5/30/2025	UBS Group 3 of 5 stars	Thomas Wadewitz Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Buy ➝ Buy	$275.00 ➝ $279.00	+12.19%
5/16/2025	Bank of America 4 of 5 stars	Ken Hoexter Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Buy ➝ Buy	$267.00 ➝ $280.00	+14.18%
4/24/2025	BMO Capital Markets Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Fadi Chamoun Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Reiterated Rating	Market Perform ➝ Market Perform	$255.00	+13.14%
4/24/2025	Royal Bank of Canada Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Walter Spracklin Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Target	Outperform ➝ Outperform	$271.00 ➝ $270.00	+18.94%
4/24/2025	Susquehanna Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Bascome Majors Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Target	Neutral ➝ Neutral	$260.00 ➝ $250.00	+11.78%
4/24/2025	Evercore ISI Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Jonathan Chappell Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Target	Outperform ➝ Outperform	$284.00 ➝ $269.00	+21.93%
4/14/2025	Stifel Nicolaus Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Benjamin Nolan Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Target	Hold ➝ Hold	$265.00 ➝ $247.00	+11.74%
4/9/2025	Jefferies Financial Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Stephanie Moore Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Target	Buy ➝ Buy	$285.00 ➝ $260.00	+26.44%
4/8/2025	Citigroup Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	A. Rosa Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Target	Buy ➝ Buy	$298.00 ➝ $259.00	+25.82%
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4/2/2025	Barclays Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Brandon Oglenski Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Target	Overweight ➝ Overweight	$305.00 ➝ $290.00	+22.72%
3/27/2025	Wells Fargo & Company Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Christian Wetherbee Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Target	Overweight ➝ Overweight	$300.00 ➝ $290.00	+23.06%
3/7/2025	Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Initiated Coverage	Hold ➝ Buy	$293.00	+22.51%
2/3/2025	Loop Capital Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Rick Paterson Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Downgrade	Buy ➝ Hold	$289.00 ➝ $256.00	+0.22%
1/30/2025	Robert W. Baird Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Garrett Holland Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Neutral ➝ Neutral	$260.00 ➝ $270.00	+4.33%
1/30/2025	Benchmark Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Nathan Martin Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Reiterated Rating	Buy ➝ Buy	$285.00 ➝ $285.00	+10.34%
1/30/2025	Stephens Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Daniel Imbro Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Equal Weight ➝ Equal Weight	$260.00 ➝ $275.00	+6.34%
1/30/2025	JPMorgan Chase & Co. Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Brian Ossenbeck Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Overweight ➝ Overweight	$284.00 ➝ $286.00	+10.59%
10/23/2024	TD Cowen Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Hold ➝ Hold	$253.00 ➝ $259.00	+1.23%
10/9/2024	Sanford C. Bernstein Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Outperform ➝ Outperform	$285.00 ➝ $286.00	+16.94%
7/8/2024	Morgan Stanley Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Reiterated Rating	Underweight	$175.00	-18.93%
7/11/2023	Vertical Research Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Upgrade	Hold ➝ Buy	$260.00	+13.57%

Analyst ratings data on MarketBeat is provided by Benzinga and other data providers. This page was last refreshed on Friday at 08:22 PM ET.

Should I Buy Norfolk Southern Stock? NSC Pros and Cons Explained

These pros and cons were generated based on recent news and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate insights. They were last updated on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. Please send any questions or comments about these Norfolk Southern pros and cons to contact@marketbeat.com.

Norfolk Southern
Bull Case

Here are some ways that investors could benefit from investing in Norfolk Southern Co.:

The current stock price is around $248, reflecting a recent increase, which may indicate positive market sentiment towards the company.
Institutional investors hold a significant portion of the stock, with over 75% owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors, suggesting strong confidence in the company's future performance.
Recent upgrades from analysts, including a "buy" rating and increased price targets, indicate a favorable outlook for Norfolk Southern Co.'s stock performance.
The company has shown resilience with a market capitalization of approximately $55.71 billion, indicating its strong position in the market.
Norfolk Southern Co. has a solid P/E ratio, which can suggest that the stock is reasonably valued compared to its earnings, making it an attractive option for investors looking for growth.

Norfolk Southern
Bear Case

Investors should be bearish about investing in Norfolk Southern Co. for these reasons:

Recent price target reductions by analysts may signal concerns about the company's short-term performance and market conditions.
The company has a relatively high debt-to-equity ratio, which could indicate higher financial risk, especially in a fluctuating economic environment.
Despite a strong market presence, the stock has experienced volatility, with a 12-month low of around $201.63, which may deter risk-averse investors.
Some analysts have issued hold ratings, suggesting that while the stock may not be a sell, it may not present a compelling buy opportunity at current levels.
Market conditions can be unpredictable, and external factors such as economic downturns or changes in regulations could negatively impact Norfolk Southern Co.'s operations and profitability.

NSC Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

: According to the research reports of 21 Wall Street equities research analysts, the average twelve-month stock price forecast for Norfolk Southern is $267.24, with a high forecast of $293.00 and a low forecast of $175.00.
: 21 Wall Street research analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Norfolk Southern in the last twelve months. There is currently 1 sell rating, 8 hold ratings and 12 buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street research analysts is that investors should "moderate buy" NSC shares.
: According to analysts, Norfolk Southern's stock has a predicted upside of 6.52% based on their 12-month stock forecasts.
: Norfolk Southern has been rated by research analysts at Bank of America, Barclays, BMO Capital Markets, Citigroup, Evercore ISI, Jefferies Financial Group, Royal Bank of Canada, Stifel Nicolaus, Susquehanna, The Goldman Sachs Group, UBS Group, and Wells Fargo & Company in the past 90 days.
: Analysts like Norfolk Southern less than other "transportation" companies. The consensus rating score for Norfolk Southern is 2.52 while the average consensus rating score for "transportation" companies is 2.58. Learn more on how NSC compares to other companies.

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This page (NYSE:NSC) was last updated on 6/6/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff

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Norfolk Southern (NSC) Stock Forecast & Price Target