Zacks Research Issues Negative Estimate for NSC Earnings

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research reduced their Q3 2025 EPS estimates for shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note issued on Tuesday, August 19th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the railroad operator will earn $3.29 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $3.30. 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 $3.26 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $3.57 EPS and Q2 2027 earnings at $3.76 EPS.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on NSC. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Benchmark cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $255.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $285.15.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC opened at $285.7490 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $268.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $247.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $64.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern has a 1-year low of $201.63 and a 1-year high of $288.64.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.24 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 27.51% and a return on equity of 19.35%. Norfolk Southern has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.49%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 883.3% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 177 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 3,571 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $846,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 71,463 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $16,925,000 after buying an additional 2,782 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 8.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,179 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $990,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 472.3% during the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 43,054 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $10,105,000 after purchasing an additional 35,531 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

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.