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

CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 21,889 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 225% compared to the average daily volume of 6,726 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at CSX

In related news, CAO Diana B. Sorfleet sold 90,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.56, for a total value of $3,740,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 165,613 shares in the company, valued at $6,882,876.28. This trade represents a 35.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Fortune sold 31,456 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.65, for a total transaction of $1,215,774.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 82,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,170,614.10. This trade represents a 27.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 188,123 shares of company stock worth $7,454,854. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CSX

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CSX in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of CSX by 437.3% during the third 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 last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in shares of CSX during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings in CSX by 121.5% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 1,329 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CrossGen Wealth LLC bought a new stake in CSX during the fourth quarter worth $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

CSX News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting CSX this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity — investors bought roughly 21,889 call options on Wednesday (about a 225% jump versus typical call volume), indicating speculative or directional bullish bets that can lift near-term demand for the shares.
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and performance snapshot — a Yahoo Finance analysis notes CSX shows YTD gains and strong 1‑year total shareholder return (33.6%) but has cooled recently with 1‑month weakness; the piece highlights mixed signals from valuation metrics vs. discounted cash‑flow (DCF) models. A Look At CSX (CSX) Valuation As Signals On Undervaluation And DCF Clash
• Neutral Sentiment: Local infrastructure news — a FreightWaves piece describes a transload provider reviving dormant Maine lines; modest regional rail activity like this is positive for freight flow but is unlikely to move CSX’s national earnings in the near term. Transload provider bringing new life to dormant Maine rail lines
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector caution — a Yahoo piece listing industrials to “think twice about” signals some investor caution toward parts of the industrials/transportation complex; this is a sector-level headwind rather than CSX-specific news. 3 Industrials Stocks We Think Twice About
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst action — Evercore ISI downgraded CSX from Outperform to In Line (though it nudged the price target up to $41), a change in the broker view that often triggers selling or reduced conviction among institutional holders. Evercore ISI Downgrades CSX Corporation (CSX) to In Line from Outperform
• Negative Sentiment: Short‑interest reports — multiple feeds flagged a large rise in short interest for March, but the reported figures contain inconsistencies (zero shares/NaN in the public summaries). Still, market reports of increased shorting can add downward pressure if traders treat the headlines as credible.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CSX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on CSX from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of CSX from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $30.00 price target on shares of CSX and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of CSX from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of CSX in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CSX currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.48.

CSX Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of CSX stock opened at $39.57 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $73.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.69, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.81. CSX has a fifty-two week low of $26.22 and a fifty-two week high of $43.35.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $3.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.59 billion. CSX had a return on equity of 23.88% and a net margin of 20.50%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that CSX will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This is a boost from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. CSX’s payout ratio is presently 36.36%.

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.