Norfolk Southern Corp (NSC) Stock Forecast Oct. 16, 2026
Analysis updated on Oct. 16, 2026 (UTC) · Total · absolute moveSwitch to Alpha · NYSE
Norfolk Southern Corp (NSC) stock forecast summary
Our AI ranks Norfolk Southern Corp outside the neutral middle of its coverage (a directional signal). Create a free account and follow it to see the exact price target.
Norfolk Southern Corp is a large-cap company with a market capitalization of $73.43B. It ranks number 5 by market capitalization among the 6 Railroads, Line-Haul Operating issuers in our coverage with a current forecast.
For NSC, the Spearman rank correlation between our 90-day forecasts and the returns that followed is 20.0%, measured on 357 forecast dates between 2022-07-29 and 2026-07-17 on this stock's own recent history. A rank correlation runs from -100% to +100%: it measures whether higher forecasts were followed by higher returns, and a value near zero or below means the model has shown little skill on this stock. On the 30-day forecasts the same correlation is 12.0%, measured on 400 forecast dates between 2022-07-29 and 2026-09-16. Across our coverage, the out-of-sample test on 4495 stocks from 2025-01-06 to 2026-07-07 produced a positive net return in 82.5% of rebalance periods (factor-neutral book, net of estimated costs). Full backtest report
Expected absolute price move over the horizon, market included. This is the number a price target is built from. Ratings: strong buy ≥ +5.1%, buy ≥ +3.4%, sell < +1.8%, strong sell < +0.8% (top 15%, next 20%, middle 30%, next 20%, bottom 15% of the 2026-10-16 signals)
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How NSC ranks among 5172 stocks
90D Total forecasts of every company scored, cut into five relative ratings at the 15th, 35th, 65th and 85th percentiles (dashed lines).
Norfolk Southern Corp (NSC) fundamentals
Trailing twelve months. The industry median and the rank (1 = highest) are taken over the Railroads, Line-Haul Operating peers listed below that report each metric.
Valuation & Market
| Metric | NSC | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Market Cap | $73.43B | 5/6 |
| P/E Ratio | 27.89x | 2/5 |
| P/B Ratio | 4.52x | 4/5 |
| Dividend Yield | 1.65% | 3/5 |
| EPS | $11.72 | – |
| Book Value/Share | $72.36 | – |
| Revenue/Share | $55.83 | – |
| FCF/Share | $7.26 | – |
Profitability & Margins
| Metric | NSC | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| ROE | 16.2% | – |
| ROA | 5.8% | 3/5 |
| ROIC | 9.7% | 4/5 |
| Operating Margin | 32.2% | – |
| Net Margin | 21.0% | 4/5 |
| EBT Margin | 26.8% | 4/5 |
| Tax Rate | 21.6% | – |
Financial Health
| Metric | NSC | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Current Ratio | 0.83x | 2/6 |
| D/E Ratio | 1.78x | 3/5 |
| Financial Leverage | 2.78x | 3/5 |
| Interest Coverage | 5.8x | 3/5 |
| Working Capital | -$569M | 2/6 |
Cash Flow
| Metric | NSC | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash Flow | $3.73B | 5/6 |
| Free Cash Flow | $1.63B | 4/5 |
| Capital Spending | -$2.10B | 2/5 |
| OCF Growth YoY | -11.2% | 5/5 |
| FCF Growth YoY | -19.4% | – |
| FCF/Sales | 13.0% | 4/5 |
| CapEx/Sales | 16.8% | 4/5 |
Operational Efficiency
| Metric | NSC | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Asset Turnover | 0.28x | 3/5 |
| Receivables Turnover | 10.7x | – |
| Fixed Assets Turnover | 0.3x | 3/5 |
| Days Sales Outstanding | 34 days | – |
Income Statement
| Metric | NSC | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Total Revenue | $12.54B | 3/5 |
| Operating Income | $4.04B | 5/5 |
| Net Income | $2.64B | 4/5 |
Dividend & Shareholder Information
| Metric | NSC | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Dividends Per Share | $5.40 | – |
| Payout Ratio | 46.1% | – |
| Shares Outstanding | 225M | – |
| Net Income Growth | -21.3% | – |
| EPS Growth | -22.1% | 5/5 |
Balance Sheet Highlights (USD millions)
| Total Current Assets | $2.80B | 6.2% of assets |
| Cash & Short-term Investments | $1.07B | 2.4% of assets |
| Accounts Receivable | $1.18B | 2.6% of assets |
| Total Liabilities | $28.87B | 64.0% of assets |
| Short-term Debt | $1.59B | 3.5% of assets |
NSC quarterly financials and insider trading
Norfolk Southern Corp (NSC) industry peers
Companies classified under the same SEC industry code as Norfolk Southern Corp (Railroads, Line-Haul Operating): 6 common-stock issuers with a forecast this week, one row per issuer, largest first. This is a classification match, not a curated list of competitors.
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Norfolk Southern Corp (NSC) stock forecast FAQ
What is the Norfolk Southern Corp (NSC) stock forecast?
Our AI ranks Norfolk Southern Corp outside the neutral middle of its coverage (a directional signal). Create a free account and follow it to see the exact price target.
How accurate are Norfolk Southern Corp stock predictions?
For NSC, the Spearman rank correlation between our 90-day forecasts and the returns that followed is 20.0%, measured on 357 forecast dates between 2022-07-29 and 2026-07-17 on this stock's own recent history. A rank correlation runs from -100% to +100%: it measures whether higher forecasts were followed by higher returns, and a value near zero or below means the model has shown little skill on this stock. On the 30-day forecasts the same correlation is 12.0%, measured on 400 forecast dates between 2022-07-29 and 2026-09-16. Across our coverage, the out-of-sample test on 4495 stocks from 2025-01-06 to 2026-07-07 produced a positive net return in 82.5% of rebalance periods (factor-neutral book, net of estimated costs). Full backtest report
How often are Norfolk Southern Corp forecasts updated?
Norfolk Southern Corp forecasts are refreshed on trading days as the daily model run completes. The forecast on this page was produced on Oct. 16, 2026.
Which companies are Norfolk Southern Corp's industry peers?
6 issuers in our coverage, NSC included, share the SEC industry code Railroads, Line-Haul Operating. The largest are: Union Pacific Corp (UNP), Csx Corp (CSX), Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd/Cn (CP), Canadian National Railway Co (CNI), Ftai Infrastructure Inc. (FIP).
This analysis is generated automatically using our proprietary AI systems and should not be considered personalized investment advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Always conduct your own research and consider consulting a financial advisor before making investment decisions.