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

Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, January 28th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of 1.35 per share by the railroad operator on Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%.

Norfolk Southern has increased its dividend by an average of 9.1% annually over the last three years. Norfolk Southern has a dividend payout ratio of 35.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Norfolk Southern to earn $13.21 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 40.9%.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $259.70 on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern has a one year low of $206.71 and a one year high of $277.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $249.61 and its 200-day moving average is $248.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.34.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at $2,580,979.50. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

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.