Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $1.35

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of 1.35 per share by the railroad operator on Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th.

Norfolk Southern has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years. Norfolk Southern has a dividend payout ratio of 37.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Norfolk Southern to earn $13.51 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 40.0%.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 7.9%

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $321.81 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $78.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.24, a P/E/G ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Norfolk Southern has a 52-week low of $217.33 and a 52-week high of $322.20. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $299.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $293.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.78% and a net margin of 23.59%.The firm’s revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.04 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern will post 12.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NSC. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Norfolk Southern from $314.00 to $313.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Norfolk Southern from $296.00 to $292.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $310.17.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.