Prospects of Zacks Transportation – Rail industry’s participants are being weighed down by challenges like inflation-induced elevated interest rates, concerns pertaining to supply-chain disruptions and the slowdown of economic growth. Most industry players are looking to drive their bottom line amid the headwinds through cost reduction.
Partly due to these headwinds, the industry has declined 1.8% so far this year, underperforming the S&P 500 Index’s 17.9% appreciation. The broader Zacks Transportation sector has lost 3.9% in the said time frame.
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Despite the challenges surrounding the industry,some railroad companies like Union Pacific Corporation UNP and Norfolk Southern Corporation NSC have consistently paid dividends to their shareholders, thus highlighting their pro-shareholder stance.
Dividend growth stocks generally belong to mature companies, which are less susceptible to significant market swings, and act as a hedge against uncertainty-induced stock market volatility, as is the case currently. They offer downside protection with their consistent increase in payouts.
Additionally, these companies generally have strong fundamentals like a sustainable business model, a long track of profitability, rising cash flows, good liquidity and a strong balance sheet.
How to Pick Stocks With Solid Dividend Payouts?
In order to choose some of the best dividend stocks from the aforementioned industry, we have run the Zacks Stock Screener to identify stocks with a dividend yield in excess of 2% and a sustainable dividend payout ratio of less than 60%. Each stock mentioned below presently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Union Pacific: Headquartered in Omaha, NE, Union Pacific, through its subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad Company, operates in the railroad business in the United States. Currently, UNP has a market capitalization of $149.7 billion.
UNP has paid dividends on its common stock for 125 consecutive years, reflecting its pro-shareholder approach. On Jul 17, 2024, UNP’s board of directorsapproved a dividend hike of 3%, thereby raising its quarterly cash dividend to $1.34 per share ($5.36 annualized) from $1.30 ($5.20 annualized). The raised dividend will be paid out on Sep 30, 2024, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Aug 30.
The company’s payout ratio is 49% of its earnings at present. The five-year dividend growth rate is 8.85%. (Check Union Pacific’s dividend history here).
Union Pacific Corporation Dividend Yield (TTM)
Union Pacific Corporation dividend-yield-ttm | Union Pacific Corporation Quote
Union Pacific’s consistent initiatives to reward its shareholders through dividends and share repurchases look encouraging. In 2022, UNP paid dividends worth $3.16 billion and repurchased shares worth $6.28 billion. In 2023, the company returned $3.9 billion to its shareholders through dividends ($3.2 billion) and buybacks ($0.7 billion). During the first half of 2024, UNP paid $1.59 billion in dividends and repurchased shares worth $100 million. Notably, management resumed buying back shares in the second quarter of 2024. UNP expects to buyback shares worth $1.5 billion in 2024.
Norfolk Southern: Headquartered in Atlanta, GA, Norfolk Southern engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products and finished goods in the United States. Currently, NSC has a market capitalization of $54.61 billion.
NSC pays out a quarterly dividend of $1.35 ($5.40 annualized) per share, which gives it a 2.24% yield at the current stock price. This company’s payout ratio is 49% of its earnings at present. The five-year dividend growth rate is 10.64%. (Check Norfolk Southern’s dividend history here).
Norfolk Southern Corporation Dividend Yield (TTM)
Norfolk Southern Corporation dividend-yield-ttm | Norfolk Southern Corporation Quote
Norfolk Southern’s consistent initiatives to reward its shareholders look encouraging. During the first half of 2024, NSC paid dividends worth $610 million. In 2023, the company paid dividends worth $1.23 billion and repurchased and retired common stock worth $622 million. During 2022, Norfolk Southern paid dividends worth $1.17 billion and repurchased and retired common stock worth $3.11 billion.
Such shareholder-friendly moves indicate the company’s commitment to creating value for shareholders and underline its confidence in its business.
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Union Pacific Corporation (UNP) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Norfolk Southern Corporation (NSC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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