CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.14

CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a dividend of 0.14 per share by the transportation company on Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st.

CSX has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 21 consecutive years. CSX has a payout ratio of 29.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect CSX to earn $2.23 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 25.1%.

CSX Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of CSX stock opened at $51.28 on Friday. CSX has a one year low of $31.80 and a one year high of $53.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $49.91 and its 200 day moving average is $45.57. The firm has a market cap of $94.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.64, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.21.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.02. CSX had a return on equity of 24.98% and a net margin of 22.21%.The business had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that CSX will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CSX. Susquehanna upgraded shares of CSX from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of CSX from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of CSX from $46.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $60.00 price target (up from $55.00) on shares of CSX in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Argus set a $56.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a report on Friday, July 31st. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.31.

CSX Company Profile

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.