Q1 2023 Earnings Forecast for Norfolk Southern Co. Issued By Zacks Research (NYSE:NSC)

Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC – Get Rating) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q1 2023 earnings per share estimates for shares of Norfolk Southern in a report issued on Tuesday, March 14th. Zacks Research analyst M. Basu now forecasts that the railroad operator will post earnings of $3.21 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $3.26. The consensus estimate for Norfolk Southern’s current full-year earnings is $13.66 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Norfolk Southern’s Q2 2023 earnings at $3.44 EPS, Q4 2023 earnings at $3.01 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $3.63 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $3.70 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $14.22 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on NSC. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $225.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 29th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. Wolfe Research upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $255.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Norfolk Southern from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $245.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $250.17.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $203.90 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $235.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $236.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.66. Norfolk Southern has a 12 month low of $202.40 and a 12 month high of $291.55.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 24.98% and a net margin of 25.66%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.12 EPS.

Norfolk Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 3rd were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. This is a positive change from Norfolk Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.85%.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 852 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $81,000. United Bank lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 7,581 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,162,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,640 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,464,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,946 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $555,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. 72.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Norfolk Southern

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Norfolk Southern Corp. is a transportation company, which engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods. The company also transports overseas freight through several Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports. Its services include property leases and sales, wire line or pipeline and fiber optics projects, access property, managing private crossings, promoting businesses with signboards, and natural resource management.