Norfolk Southern (NSC) Stock Forecast & Price Target

$246.47

+2.13 (+0.87%)

(As of 09/27/2024 ET)

Norfolk Southern - Analysts' Recommendations and Stock Price Forecast (2024)

MarketBeat calculates consensus analyst ratings for stocks using the most recent rating from each Wall Street analyst that has rated a stock within the last twelve months. Each analyst's rating is normalized to a standardized rating score of 1 (sell), 2 (hold), 3 (buy) or 4 (strong buy). Analyst consensus ratings scores are calculated using the mean average of the number of normalized sell, hold, buy and strong buy ratings from Wall Street analysts. Each stock's consensus analyst rating is derived from its calculated consensus ratings score (0 to .5 = Strong Sell, .5 to 1 = Sell, 1 to 1.5 = Reduce, 1.5 to 2.5 = Hold, 2.5 to 3.0 = Moderate Buy, 3.0 to 3.5 = Buy, >3.5 = Strong Buy). MarketBeat's consensus price targets are a mean average of the most recent available price targets set by each analyst that has set a price target for the stock in the last twelve months. MarketBeat's consensus ratings and consensus price targets may differ from those calculated by other firms due to differences in methodology and available data.

Consensus Rating

Moderate Buy

Based on 18 Analyst Ratings

Sell
1

Hold
4

Buy
13

Based on 18 Wall Street analysts who have issued ratings for Norfolk Southern in the last 12 months, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy." Out of the 18 analysts, 1 has given a sell rating, 4 have given a hold rating, and 13 have given a buy rating for NSC.

Consensus Price Target

$264.89
7.47% Upside

According to the 18 analysts' twelve-month price targets for Norfolk Southern, the average price target is $264.89. The highest price target for NSC is $300.00, while the lowest price target for NSC is $175.00. The average price target represents a forecasted upside of 7.47% from the current price of $246.47.

NSC Analyst Ratings Over Time

Type	Current Forecast 9/29/23 to 9/28/24	1 Month Ago 8/30/23 to 8/29/24	3 Months Ago 7/1/23 to 6/30/24	1 Year Ago 9/29/22 to 9/29/23
Strong Buy	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)
Buy	13 Buy rating(s)	12 Buy rating(s)	13 Buy rating(s)	14 Buy rating(s)
Hold	4 Hold rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	11 Hold rating(s)
Sell	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Sell rating(s)	0 Sell rating(s)
Consensus Price Target	$264.89	$264.24	$262.89	$245.40
Forecasted Upside	7.47% Upside	4.84% Upside	22.45% Upside	24.63% Upside
Consensus Rating	Moderate Buy	Moderate Buy	Moderate Buy	Moderate Buy

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NSC Analyst Recommendations By Month

The chart below shows how a company's ratings by analysts have changed over time. Each bar represents the previous year of ratings for that month. Within each bar, the sell ratings are shown in red, the hold ratings are shown in yellow, the buy ratings are shown in green, and the strong buy ratings are shown in dark green.

NSC Price Targets by Month

The chart below shows how a company's share price and consensus price target have changed over time. The dark blue line represents the company's actual price. The lighter blue line represents the stock's consensus price target. The even lighter blue range in the background of the two lines represents the low price target and the high price target for each stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock vs. The Competition

Type	Norfolk Southern	Transportation Companies	S&P 500
Consensus Rating Score	2.67	2.58	2.50
Consensus Rating	Moderate Buy	Moderate Buy	Hold
Predicted Upside	7.46% Upside	27.72% Upside	6.13% Upside
News Sentiment Rating	Positive News See Recent NSC News	Positive News	Positive News

Recent Analyst Forecasts and Stock Ratings

Rating

Upside/Downside

Action

Time Frame

Start Date

End Date

Show

Export to Excel

Date	Brokerage	Analyst Name	Action	Rating	Price Target	Upside/Downside on Report Date
9/25/2024	Evercore ISI 2 of 5 stars		Boost Target	Outperform ➝ Outperform	$265.00 ➝ $276.00	+13.18%
7/29/2024	Benchmark 2 of 5 stars		Boost Target	Buy ➝ Buy	$266.00 ➝ $270.00	+9.21%
7/26/2024	Stifel Nicolaus 4 of 5 stars		Boost Target	Hold ➝ Hold	$239.00 ➝ $241.00	-2.01%
7/26/2024	Royal Bank of Canada Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Lower Target	Outperform ➝ Outperform	$270.00 ➝ $267.00	+9.10%
7/26/2024	Wells Fargo & Company Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	C. Wetherbee Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Overweight ➝ Overweight	$260.00 ➝ $270.00	+21.14%
7/26/2024	Susquehanna Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Neutral ➝ Neutral	$245.00 ➝ $255.00	+14.41%
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7/26/2024	TD Cowen Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Hold ➝ Hold	$251.00 ➝ $253.00	+13.51%
7/8/2024	Sanford C. Bernstein Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Lower Target	Outperform ➝ Outperform	$288.00 ➝ $285.00	+33.36%
7/8/2024	Morgan Stanley Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Reiterated Rating	Underweight	$175.00	-18.93%
5/13/2024	Barclays Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Lower Target	Overweight ➝ Overweight	$305.00 ➝ $275.00	+18.91%
4/25/2024	UBS Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Lower Target	Buy ➝ Buy	$302.00 ➝ $294.00	+24.68%
4/18/2024	Loop Capital Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Buy ➝ Buy	$261.00 ➝ $270.00	+10.92%
4/9/2024	JPMorgan Chase & Co. Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Overweight ➝ Overweight	$240.00 ➝ $275.00	+9.89%
4/8/2024	Jefferies Financial Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Initiated Coverage	Buy	$300.00	+19.99%
3/21/2024	The Goldman Sachs Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Buy ➝ Buy	$252.00 ➝ $283.00	+9.11%
2/8/2024	Citigroup Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Buy ➝ Buy	$253.00 ➝ $286.00	+13.11%
1/29/2024	BMO Capital Markets Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Lower Target	Market Perform ➝ Market Perform	$250.00 ➝ $245.00	+4.99%
12/1/2023	Bank of America Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Upgrade	Neutral ➝ Buy	$204.00 ➝ $248.00	+13.68%
7/11/2023	Vertical Research Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Upgrade	Hold ➝ Buy	$260.00	+13.57%
4/27/2023	VNET Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Reiterated Rating	Maintains
3/20/2023	Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Lower Target		$266.00 ➝ $258.00	+25.31%
3/15/2023	Argus Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Downgrade	Buy ➝ Hold
2/21/2023	Wolfe Research Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Upgrade	Peer Perform ➝ Outperform	$255.00	+11.77%
1/26/2023	Cowen Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Outperform	$256.00 ➝ $259.00	+6.60%
1/26/2023	Credit Suisse Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Lower Target	Outperform	$285.00 ➝ $275.00	+13.18%
10/27/2022	Cowen Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Lower Target		$247.00 ➝ $243.00	+7.49%
10/27/2022	Stephens Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Equal Weight	$225.00 ➝ $230.00	+1.79%
10/27/2022	Susquehanna Bancshares Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target		$218.00 ➝ $220.00	-0.95%
10/13/2022	TD Securities Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Downgrade	Buy ➝ Hold
10/7/2022	Robert W. Baird Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Downgrade	Outperform ➝ Neutral	$280.00 ➝ $240.00	+9.62%

Analyst ratings data on MarketBeat is provided by Benzinga and other data providers. This page was last refreshed on Saturday at 03:02 PM ET.

Should I Buy Norfolk Southern Stock? NSC Pros and Cons Explained

These pros and cons were generated based on recent news and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate insights. They were last updated on Tuesday, September 24, 2024. Please send any questions or comments about these Norfolk Southern pros and cons to contact@marketbeat.com.

Norfolk Southern
Bull Case

Here are some ways that investors could benefit from investing in Norfolk Southern Co.:

Norfolk Southern Co. reported a strong quarterly earnings performance, surpassing analysts' expectations with an EPS of $3.06, indicating solid financial health and potential growth.
The company pays a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $5.40 and a dividend yield of 2.13%, providing investors with a steady income stream.
Hedge funds and institutional investors have shown confidence in Norfolk Southern Co., with significant purchases and ownership stakes, reflecting positive market sentiment.
The company's stock price has been trading consistently, with a one-year high of $263.66, indicating stability and potential for capital appreciation.
Norfolk Southern Co. has a strong return on equity of 19.64%, showcasing efficient utilization of shareholder funds to generate profits.

Norfolk Southern
Bear Case

Investors should be bearish about investing in Norfolk Southern Co. for these reasons:

The company's stock has a relatively high price-to-earnings ratio of 40.86, which may indicate that the stock is currently overvalued compared to its earnings potential.
Norfolk Southern Co. has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, suggesting a higher level of debt in its capital structure, which could pose risks during economic downturns or interest rate fluctuations.
The stock experienced a 1.4% decline in trading, signaling short-term market volatility and potential uncertainties in the company's performance.
Insiders have been selling company shares, with an executive vice president recently selling 1,488 shares, which could raise concerns about insider sentiment and future prospects.
Analysts have provided a neutral rating on the stock, indicating mixed opinions on its future performance and growth prospects.

NSC Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

: According to the research reports of 18 Wall Street equities research analysts, the average twelve-month stock price forecast for Norfolk Southern is $264.89, with a high forecast of $300.00 and a low forecast of $175.00.
: 18 Wall Street research analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Norfolk Southern in the last year. There is currently 1 sell rating, 4 hold ratings and 13 buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street research analysts is that investors should "moderate buy" NSC shares.
: According to analysts, Norfolk Southern's stock has a predicted upside of 7.47% based on their 12-month stock forecasts.
: Norfolk Southern has been rated by research analysts at Benchmark, Evercore ISI, Morgan Stanley, Royal Bank of Canada, Sanford C. Bernstein, Stifel Nicolaus, Susquehanna, TD Cowen, and Wells Fargo & Company in the past 90 days.
: Analysts like Norfolk Southern more than other "transportation" companies. The consensus rating score for Norfolk Southern is 2.67 while the average consensus rating score for "transportation" companies is 2.58. Learn more on how NSC compares to other companies.