Norfolk Southern Corporation (NSC) To Go Ex-Dividend on August 7th

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

Norfolk Southern has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years. Norfolk Southern has a payout ratio of 37.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Norfolk Southern to earn $13.80 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 39.1%.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $341.49 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.99 and a beta of 1.27. Norfolk Southern has a twelve month low of $268.23 and a twelve month high of $358.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $320.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $308.76.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.02% and a return on equity of 18.21%. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 12.6 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 239.3% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 95 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Bayban bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.