Research Analysts Set Expectations for Norfolk Southern Co.’s Q1 2026 Earnings (NYSE:NSC)

Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, July 17th. Zacks Research analyst M. Basu now expects that the railroad operator will post earnings of $3.00 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $2.97. The consensus estimate for Norfolk Southern’s current full-year earnings is $11.62 per share.

NSC has been the topic of several other reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Norfolk Southern from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $239.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $245.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $263.53.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $224.25 on Monday. Norfolk Southern has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $222.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $237.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $50.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.32.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.32 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 86.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $1,902,593.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Norfolk Southern news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $1,902,593.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,534,750. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cedar Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 662.5% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by 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.