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

Key Points

• Norfolk Southern declared a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, payable on August 20 to shareholders of record as of August 7. The dividend implies an annualized payout of $5.40 and a yield of about 1.6%.
• The company’s dividend appears well covered, with a payout ratio of 37.8%; analysts also expect future earnings to support continued payments. Norfolk Southern has raised its dividend only modestly, averaging about 0.1% per year over the last three years.
• Norfolk Southern reported better-than-expected EPS in its last quarter, though revenue came in below estimates. Shares were down 0.9% in recent trading, while the stock remains near its 1-year high.

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a dividend of 1.35 per share by the railroad operator on Thursday, August 20th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th.

Norfolk Southern has increased its dividend 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 $13.43 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 40.2%.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NSC opened at $331.81 on Wednesday. Norfolk Southern has a 1-year low of $268.23 and a 1-year high of $342.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $315.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $305.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.95, a PEG ratio of 6.12 and a beta of 1.27.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 18.30%. Norfolk Southern's revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.69 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 12.24 EPS for the current year.

About Norfolk Southern

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.

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