CSX Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:CSX)

CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Traders bought 33,081 call options on the company. This is an increase of 88% compared to the typical daily volume of 17,604 call options.

CSX Price Performance

CSX stock traded down $0.25 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $50.33. 4,591,906 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,057,986. CSX has a 52 week low of $31.80 and a 52 week high of $53.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.82. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.21.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.89 billion. CSX had a net margin of 22.21% and a return on equity of 24.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that CSX will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is 32.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $32.00 price target on shares of CSX and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Susquehanna raised shares of CSX from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $58.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on CSX from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Truist Financial set a $46.00 target price on CSX in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on CSX from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Angela C. Williams sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.29, for a total value of $1,598,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 10,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,187.73. The trade was a 74.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevin S. Boone sold 136,708 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.70, for a total transaction of $6,384,263.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 208,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,742,647.40. This represents a 39.59% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 189,708 shares of company stock valued at $9,132,304. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CSX

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CSX. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in CSX by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 16,254 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $525,000 after buying an additional 849 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its stake in shares of CSX by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 74,410 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,428,000 after purchasing an additional 2,281 shares during the period. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in shares of CSX during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in CSX by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 405,828 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $13,242,000 after purchasing an additional 3,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC grew its holdings in CSX by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 148,355 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,268,000 after purchasing an additional 27,280 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

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.