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

Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 22nd, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of 1.35 per share by the railroad operator on Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd.

Norfolk Southern has raised its dividend by an average of 9.1% per year over the last three years. Norfolk Southern has a dividend payout ratio of 37.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Norfolk Southern to earn $14.72 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 36.7%.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock traded down $5.03 on Friday, hitting $221.65. 1,306,890 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,254,654. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.17, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $230.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $244.93. Norfolk Southern has a 1 year low of $201.63 and a 1 year high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Norfolk Southern stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,706 shares of the railroad operator's stock after buying an additional 79 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $400,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NSC shares. Susquehanna cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $269.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $255.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $259.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $266.10.

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.