BMO Capital Markets Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Stock

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) had its target price increased by stock analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $45.00 to $49.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a “market perform” rating on the transportation company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 3.49% from the company’s previous close.

CSX has been the subject of a number of other reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on CSX from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on CSX from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. New Street Research set a $49.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.18.

CSX Stock Up 2.8%

NASDAQ CSX traded up $1.29 during trading on Thursday, reaching $47.35. 1,359,078 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,194,064. CSX has a 12-month low of $31.80 and a 12-month high of $48.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $87.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.22. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.22.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.50 billion. CSX had a return on equity of 24.47% and a net margin of 21.55%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that CSX will post 1.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CSX

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FNY Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of CSX by 437.3% in the 3rd quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 720 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 586 shares during the period. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CSX during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of CSX by 97.4% during the 1st quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 829 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the period. CrossGen Wealth LLC acquired a new position in CSX in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Finally, Aventura Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in CSX in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. 73.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.