What is Zacks Research’s Forecast for NSC FY2024 Earnings?

Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research increased their FY2024 EPS estimates for Norfolk Southern in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, November 11th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the railroad operator will post earnings per share of $11.74 for the year, up from their prior estimate of $11.67. The consensus estimate for Norfolk Southern’s current full-year earnings is $11.82 per share.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on NSC. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $264.76 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $252.52 and a 200 day moving average of $238.46. Norfolk Southern has a 52-week low of $204.90 and a 52-week high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 50.70%.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,550,000. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total value of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,265 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.8% in the second quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 1,516 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Blue Chip Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.5% in the second quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 7,716 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,656,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 381 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

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.