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

Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, October 18th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of 1.35 per share by the railroad operator on Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%.

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Norfolk Southern has increased its dividend by an average of 12.8% annually over the last three years. Norfolk Southern has a 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 Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NSC stock traded up $4.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $253.08. 541,915 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,248,720. The stock has a market cap of $57.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.65, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $247.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $236.86. Norfolk Southern has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

• All Aboard! The Sell-Side Has Railroads In Reversal

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.95 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NSC. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $294.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $266.17.

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Read Our Latest Research Report on Norfolk Southern

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at $371,077.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Norfolk Southern news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at $371,077.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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