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

Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, October 18th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of 1.35 per share by the railroad operator on Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%.

Norfolk Southern has raised its dividend by an average of 12.8% annually over the last three years. Norfolk Southern has a dividend payout ratio of 39.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Norfolk Southern to earn $13.57 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 39.8%.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $252.37 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $247.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $236.87. Norfolk Southern has a 12-month low of $183.09 and a 12-month high of $263.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The company has a market cap of $57.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.64, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at $371,077.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Norfolk Southern news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $371,077.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,887,655. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NSC. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $266.17.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

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.