Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) to Issue $1.35 Quarterly Dividend

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, July 21st, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of 1.35 per share by the railroad operator on Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st.

Norfolk Southern has a dividend payout ratio of 37.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities 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 NYSE NSC traded down $1.93 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $278.34. 5,379,434 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,651,081. The company's 50 day moving average price is $255.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $242.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern has a 12 month low of $201.63 and a 12 month high of $288.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.03). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.65% and a net margin of 27.40%. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.49 EPS. Norfolk Southern's quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Norfolk Southern will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NSC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $255.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. TD Cowen raised Norfolk Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $263.00 to $323.00 in a research report on Monday. Finally, Baird R W raised Norfolk Southern to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $280.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Norfolk Southern stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,706 shares of the railroad operator's stock after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $400,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

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.