CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $48.42 and last traded at $48.1520, with a volume of 1067452 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.66.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CSX shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of CSX from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $41.00 price objective (up from $37.00) on shares of CSX in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 target price (up from $44.00) on shares of CSX in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Evercore set a $47.00 target price on CSX in a report on Thursday. Finally, Vertical Research lowered CSX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $44.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.18.

CSX Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $45.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market cap of $89.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.42, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.22.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.04. CSX had a net margin of 21.55% and a return on equity of 24.47%. The firm had revenue of $3.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.50 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.34 earnings per share. CSX’s revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that CSX Corporation will post 1.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is 34.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John J. Zillmer sold 10,000 shares of CSX stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.45, for a total transaction of $464,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 353,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,430,015.30. The trade was a 2.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Kevin S. Boone sold 136,708 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.70, for a total value of $6,384,263.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 208,622 shares in the company, valued at $9,742,647.40. This represents a 39.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CSX

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rathbones Group PLC lifted its position in CSX by 20.6% in the third quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 207,454 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,367,000 after buying an additional 35,403 shares during the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan raised its stake in shares of CSX by 34.2% in the 4th quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 96,484 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,498,000 after acquiring an additional 24,566 shares during the period. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC raised its stake in shares of CSX by 81.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 944,946 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $33,555,000 after acquiring an additional 425,395 shares during the period. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of CSX by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 111,914 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,057,000 after acquiring an additional 23,072 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of CSX by 159.5% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 73,410 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,661,000 after purchasing an additional 45,116 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

About CSX

CSX Corporation is a leading North American transportation company that provides rail-based freight services and supply-chain solutions. Its operating subsidiary, CSX Transportation, moves a wide range of goods for customers across multiple industries, using a combination of long-haul rail service, intermodal operations and terminal and yard services. The company focuses on delivering efficient, reliable freight transportation between major production centers, consumption markets and port gateways.

CSX’s freight portfolio includes intermodal containers and trailers, bulk commodities, industrial products and specialized unit trains.