NSC NYSE Week ended 24 Jul 2026

Weekly Investor Report

Norfolk Southern Corporation · Industrials · Railroads

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Latest close 350.7 USD
3.1% latest week
Weekly setup

Constructive, but selective

The weekly trend is active. Price is 14.7% above the Trend Line and sits at 91.6% of its 52-week range. The latest completed week returned 3.1%, after a 12.1% four-week move. The latest factor snapshot indicates quality ranks strongly versus its universe; growth ranks weakly; valuation is expensive relative to peers. Options positioning is bullish with 45/100 conviction, while the latest news-sentiment score is 56/100. Near-term considerations: price is close to its 52-week high; earnings are due in 5d.

Setup score 82 out of 100
Latest Close 350.7 USD 24 Jul 2026
1W Return 3.1% latest completed week
4W Return 12.1% short-term follow-through
12W Return 11.5% quarterly tape
Trend Breadth 94.2% 49 of 52 weeks active
Volume Ratio 1.2x vs 13-week average
What is working
  • The trend backdrop is active with a 15-week active streak.
  • Price is above the Trend Line, keeping the weekly tape constructive.
  • Price is above Fair Value, showing premium demand versus the model.
  • Activity pressure is positive on the latest completed week.
What could go wrong
  • 4 reversal markers appear in the recent smart-money tape.
What to watch next
  • Price is close to its 52-week high; watch for continuation or exhaustion.
  • Trend Line remains the key weekly regime level.
  • Activity pressure is the gauge to monitor for confirmation or fade.
  • A volume ratio above 1.5x would show stronger participation in the next move.
Price follow-through 3.1% Latest completed week; four-week move 12.1%. Indicator stack 97/100 Trend and activity pressure are weighted against the latest 12-week confirmation window. Trend backdrop Active The trend backdrop defines the current weekly regime. Patient Capital Quiet Activity-pressure buy-signal status for institutional accumulation timing. Next-Week Expectancy Positive 56.33% Historical one-week expectancy contributes to the evidence score when direction is confirmed. Options pressure Bullish 45/100 conviction; expected move 4.6%. News sentiment 56/100 51 relevant articles in the latest sentiment read. Event risk 5d Next report is scheduled for 04 Aug 2026; event risk rises as the date approaches.
01 · Price action

Where price is—and whether the trend supports it

The weekly trend is active. Price is 14.7% above the Trend Line and sits at 91.6% of its 52-week range. The latest completed week returned 3.1%, after a 12.1% four-week move.

Study the full chart

52-week price path

Price vs Trend Line and Fair Value
Price Trend Line Fair Value
02 · Volume and demand

Is real participation confirming the move?

Latest weekly volume is 1.2x the 13-week average. Participation is around or above normal and provides reasonable confirmation.

26-week volume confirmation

Bar height shows volume; colour shows the weekly price direction
30 Jan 6 Feb 13 Feb 20 Feb 27 Feb 6 Mar 13 Mar 20 Mar 27 Mar 3 Apr 10 Apr 17 Apr 24 Apr 1 May 8 May 15 May 22 May 29 May 5 Jun 12 Jun 19 Jun 26 Jun 3 Jul 10 Jul 17 Jul 24 Jul
Up week Down week
Demand beneath price

Activity pressure and institutional-style signals

These indicators assess whether participation is improving beneath the headline price move. They are supporting evidence, not proof of institutional buying.

Activity pressure path

Latest 0.8912-week average 0.80

12-week confirmation

Trend active12/12Active trend-backdrop weeks in the latest 12-week window.
Positive pressure11/12Weeks with constructive activity pressure in the latest 12-week window.
Positive leadership4/12Weeks with positive relative leadership in the latest 12-week window.
Activity pressure0.89Current proprietary activity-pressure read.
Buy signals0Accumulation signal count in the latest 12 weeks.
Reversal markers44 reversal markers

No recent accumulation markers. 4 reversal markers.

03 · Momentum and leadership

Is performance persistent—and is the stock leading?

Performance is 12.1% over four weeks, 11.5% over 12 weeks, and 26.5% over one year. The current trend has remained active for 15 consecutive weeks.

Performance by holding period

1W3.1%
4W12.1%
12W11.5%
26W23.1%
52W26.5%
Active trend streak15 weeks
Active weeks in one year49
Trend breadth94.2%

Activity pressure vs relative leadership

Activity pressureRelative leadership
Pressure1.17Latest activity-pressure read.
Pressure change401.6%Four-week change in activity pressure.
Leadership9.73Latest relative-leadership reading.
RS change2383.7%Four-week change in relative leadership.
04 · Fundamentals and valuation

What investors are paying for—and the quality behind it

The latest factor snapshot indicates quality ranks strongly versus its universe; growth ranks weakly; valuation is expensive relative to peers.

Open full factor analysis
Factor week 26 Jul 2026 Financial statements through 31 Dec 2025 Field coverage 100% Model confidence 100%

Relative factor standing

Higher display scores are better. Each score is converted from the underlying universe rank, where rank 1 is best.

Overall factor strength41/100Blend of value, momentum, and quality. Underlying universe rank 60; rank 1 is best.
Value12/100Relative valuation strength. Underlying universe rank 89; rank 1 is best.
Quality86/100Profitability and accounting quality. Underlying universe rank 15; rank 1 is best.
Momentum71/100Medium-term price momentum. Underlying universe rank 30; rank 1 is best.
Growth9/100Revenue and earnings growth. Underlying universe rank 92; rank 1 is best.
How to read this

Quality and valuation are separate questions

A strong company can still carry a demanding valuation. This report shows profitability, growth, balance-sheet strength, and the price paid for those characteristics separately.

Value-quality framework25/100Value and quality alignment from the Sharemaestro SVQF framework.

Valuation

How much investors are paying for earnings, sales, and cash flow.

P/E
29.9x
Price divided by trailing earnings.
Price / sales
6.3x
Market value relative to trailing revenue.
EV / EBITDA
17.4x
Enterprise value relative to operating cash earnings.
Free-cash-flow yield
7.0%
Free cash flow as a share of enterprise value.

Business quality

Margins and the return generated on invested capital.

Gross margin
53.7%
Gross profit retained from each unit of revenue.
Operating margin
32.0%
Operating profit retained from revenue.
Free-cash-flow margin
52.5%
Free cash flow generated from revenue.
Return on invested capital
9.9%
Operating return generated on invested capital.

Growth and financial strength

Recent business growth and accounting strength.

Revenue growth
3.0%
Latest one-year revenue growth.
EPS growth
-21.3%
Latest one-year earnings-per-share growth.
Free-cash-flow growth
3.1%
Latest one-year free-cash-flow growth.
Piotroski F-score
7/9
Nine-point accounting-strength checklist.

Shareholder return and balance sheet

Cash returned to owners and financial leverage.

Dividend yield
1.5%
Cash dividends relative to market value.
Buyback yield
0.1%
Net share repurchases relative to market value.
Shareholder yield
1.6%
Dividend yield plus net buyback yield.
Net debt / EBITDA
2.9x
Balance-sheet debt relative to operating cash earnings.
05 · Ownership, options, and sentiment

What other market participants are doing

Options, insider transactions, market sentiment, and activity-pressure signals can confirm or challenge the price story. None should be used alone.

Options positioningBullish

NSC shows bullish options pressure with a 45/100 conviction score, put-call volume ratio of 0.22, expected move of 4.6%, and Sharemaestro trend signal active.

Conviction45/100
Expected move4.6%
Put/call volume0.22
Pressure54
Speculation40
Volatility32
Trend agreement41
Open options detail
Insider activity18 / 2

18 acquisitions and 2 disposals in the latest 180-day insider tape.

Acquisitions / disposals over the latest 180 days. Insider activity is context, not a stand-alone signal.
News sentiment56/100

Weighted news tone is neutral across 51 relevant articles.

18 positive · 29 neutral · 4 negative
Patient CapitalQuiet

Activity-pressure buy-signal evidence highlights potential institutional accumulation windows.

No recent buy signal
06 · Catalysts and risk

What can move the shares—and how volatile the path has been

Event timing, options-implied movement, drawdown, and weekly return distribution frame the risk around the current setup.

Next earnings5dNext report is scheduled for 04 Aug 2026; event risk rises as the date approaches.
Options expected move4.6%Nearest-chain priced movement where available.
52-week drawdown-2.2%Distance below the 52-week high.
13-week volatility2.6%Standard deviation of weekly returns.

Weekly gains and losses

Latest 26 completed weeks

Each bar is one week. Gains rise above the zero line; losses fall below it. Taller bars mean a larger weekly move.

Weeks higher17 of 269 weeks finished lower.
Best week+5.7%Week of 24 Apr.
Worst week-4.4%Week of 13 Mar.
Latest week+3.1%Week of 24 Jul.

Shape of recent returns

Strong gains3
Modest gains14
Flat weeks0
Modest losses7
Sharp losses2
Recent vol2.6%13-week weekly-return volatility.
Base vol2.4%52-week weekly-return volatility.
Up/down split31/21Count of positive and negative weeks in the 52-week window.
Average skew2.1% / -1.8%Average positive week versus average negative week.
07 · Sector and peer context

Is this stock leading—or simply moving with its group?

Sector and industry breadth distinguish company-specific strength from a broad group move.

08 · Evidence and weekly data

The underlying research record

Every top-level statement above should be traceable to a stored market, fundamental, event, or positioning observation.

Weekly tape83/100

Trend, activity pressure, participation, and risk combine to a 83/100 tape read.

 Indicator analysis67/100

Latest 12-week confirmation: trend 12/12, activity pressure 11/12, relative leadership 4/12.

Activity pressure 0.89; 4 reversal markers Next-Week ExpectancyPositive 56.33%

Next-week expectancy is positive with a 56.33% historical one-week setup read.

Adds short-term historical context without overriding trend, activity, or relative leadership. Factors52/100

O'Shaughnessy factor stack blends value, quality, momentum, and confidence.

Buyback Yield rank 41 SVQF25/100

Value and quality alignment from the Sharemaestro SVQF framework.

Composite rank 756.0 of 1013 Patient CapitalQuiet

Activity-pressure buy-signal evidence highlights potential institutional accumulation windows.

No recent buy signal Options56/100

NSC shows bullish options pressure with a 45/100 conviction score, put-call volume ratio of 0.22, expected move of 4.6%, and Sharemaestro trend signal active.

Bullish · Call-side pressure · Expected move 4.6% Sentiment56/100

Weighted news tone is neutral across 51 relevant articles.

Merger opponents unmoved by latest UP-NS regulatory filing Insiders18 / 2

18 acquisitions and 2 disposals in the latest 180-day insider tape.

 Earnings5d

Next report is scheduled for 04 Aug 2026; event risk rises as the date approaches.

 Research flow1 items

1 recent research articles and 0 Market Watch posts are available.
WeekCloseReturnTrend LineFair ValuePressureLeadershipVolumeTrend
24 Jul 2026350.7 USD3.1%305.8 USD250.5 USD1.179.736.8MOn
17 Jul 2026340.2 USD3.9%303.8 USD249.7 USD0.935.985.2MOn
10 Jul 2026327.5 USD1.5%302.0 USD248.9 USD0.570.543.6MOn
3 Jul 2026322.7 USD3.2%300.9 USD248.2 USD0.400.473.9MOn
26 Jun 2026312.8 USD4.2%299.9 USD247.5 USD0.23-0.436.4MOn
19 Jun 2026300.1 USD-4.4%299.1 USD246.9 USD0.03-6.685.8MOn
12 Jun 2026313.9 USD0.1%298.6 USD246.3 USD0.09-1.574.3MOn
5 Jun 2026313.4 USD2.8%297.5 USD245.6 USD0.08-1.115.2MOn
29 May 2026305.0 USD-3.0%296.5 USD244.9 USD0.07-6.156.9MOn
22 May 2026314.5 USD-0.4%295.6 USD244.2 USD0.13-1.866.4MOn
15 May 2026315.9 USD1.3%294.3 USD243.5 USD0.09-0.515.8MOn
8 May 2026312.0 USD-0.8%293.3 USD242.8 USD-0.02-1.474.9MOn
1 May 2026314.5 USD-1.2%292.4 USD242.0 USD-0.041.805.8MOn
24 Apr 2026318.3 USD5.7%291.8 USD241.3 USD-0.234.205.2MOn
How to use this report

This is a completed-week research summary. It explains the available evidence and its conflicts; it does not predict a guaranteed outcome or replace your own risk assessment. Fundamental figures may refer to an earlier financial reporting period, which is shown above.