Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Forecasted to Post Q2 2024 Earnings of $2.85 Per Share

Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) – Research analysts at Zacks Research reduced their Q2 2024 earnings estimates for Norfolk Southern in a research note issued to investors on Friday, April 19th. Zacks Research analyst M. Basu now forecasts that the railroad operator will post earnings per share of $2.85 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $3.04. The consensus estimate for Norfolk Southern’s current full-year earnings is $11.98 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Norfolk Southern’s Q3 2024 earnings at $3.17 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $3.13 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.84 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $3.44 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.96 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $14.28 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Barclays raised shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $305.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised Norfolk Southern from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $238.00 to $302.00 in a report on Monday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.74.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.4 %

NSC stock opened at $244.61 on Monday. Norfolk Southern has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.23 billion, a PE ratio of 30.50, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $252.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $231.71.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.87 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.09 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 21.06%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Provence Wealth Management Group purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 317.1% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 146 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.33%.

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.