CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $37.50.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on CSX from $34.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of CSX in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on CSX from $39.00 to $37.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on CSX from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded CSX from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $37.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 25th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CSX

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CSX. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in CSX in the first quarter valued at about $29,614,000. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in CSX by 6.7% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,447,099 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $42,588,000 after buying an additional 90,313 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in CSX by 127.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 1,151,161 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $33,879,000 after buying an additional 645,693 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in CSX by 15.1% in the first quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 12,514 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 1,642 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its stake in CSX by 9.8% in the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 38,757 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,141,000 after buying an additional 3,458 shares during the last quarter. 73.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CSX Price Performance

CSX opened at $35.00 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $34.22 and a 200 day moving average of $31.90. CSX has a 52-week low of $26.22 and a 52-week high of $37.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market cap of $65.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.60, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.29.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.02. CSX had a return on equity of 25.48% and a net margin of 21.92%.The company had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. CSX’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CSX will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is 32.10%.

About CSX

CSX Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides rail-based freight transportation services. The company offers rail services; and transportation of intermodal containers and trailers, as well as other transportation services, such as rail-to-truck transfers and bulk commodity operations. It also transports chemicals, agricultural and food products, minerals, automotive, forest products, fertilizers, and metals and equipment; and coal, coke, and iron ore to electricity-generating power plants, steel manufacturers, and industrial plants, as well as exports coal to deep-water port facilities.