Norfolk Southern Co. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.35 (NYSE:NSC)

Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 23rd, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a dividend of 1.35 per share by the railroad operator on Monday, May 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd.

Norfolk Southern has increased its dividend payment by an average of 12.8% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 3 years. Norfolk Southern has a payout ratio of 38.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Norfolk Southern to earn $13.59 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 39.7%.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $236.14 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $58.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.44, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $252.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $232.12. Norfolk Southern has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 21.06%. The business’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Norfolk Southern will post 11.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $185.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.74.

About Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids; metals and construction materials, such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and military-related products; and automotive, including finished motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as coal.