Evercore Raises CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Price Target to $44.00

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) had its price objective increased by equities researchers at Evercore from $41.00 to $44.00 in a report issued on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. Evercore’s target price indicates a potential downside of 3.11% from the company’s previous close.

CSX has been the topic of several other research reports. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on shares of CSX from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $41.00 price objective (up from $37.00) on shares of CSX in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna restated a “neutral” rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.26.

CSX Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CSX opened at $45.41 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $41.43 and its 200-day moving average is $38.14. CSX has a 52-week low of $27.51 and a 52-week high of $46.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $84.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.86, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.25.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last posted 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 company had revenue of $3.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.34 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that CSX will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at CSX

In other CSX news, CEO Stephen F. Angel bought 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $40.27 per share, with a total value of $1,006,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 146,540 shares in the company, valued at $5,901,165.80. The trade was a 20.57% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen Fortune sold 31,456 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 82,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,170,614.10. The trade was a 27.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 188,123 shares of company stock valued at $7,454,854 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of CSX

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Syon Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of CSX by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 28,316 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,026,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of CSX by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,757 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $172,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of CSX by 4.1% during the third quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,324 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CSX by 2.7% during the third quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 13,048 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $463,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CSX by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,235 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $480,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting CSX

Here are the key news stories impacting CSX this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 EPS beat and upgraded outlook — CSX reported $0.43 GAAP EPS (above estimates), improved operating income and raised its 2026 revenue/growth guidance to mid‑single digits; management flagged higher volumes, lower operating costs and stronger free cash flow expectations, which supports upside for earnings and cash returns. CSX Q1 2026 Earnings Call Summary
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raise targets and ratings — Multiple firms (Jefferies, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Raymond James, BofA, BMO, TD Cowen, Benchmark and others) lifted price targets/ratings after the print, signaling growing sell‑side confidence and supporting further upside. Analyst Price Target Moves
• Positive Sentiment: Operational execution improving — Company commentary and reports highlight network expansion, record fuel efficiency and efficiency initiatives that drove margin expansion; that operational progress underpins a multi‑year earnings upside thesis. Q1 Deep Dive: Efficiency Initiatives
• Neutral Sentiment: One‑time items and revenue mix — Q1 included gains from real‑estate sales that helped EPS and revenue growth was modest (mixed with a slight top‑line miss), so some of the beat reflects non‑recurring items and cost reductions rather than pure demand strength. CSX Q1 Results Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Options and insider flows — Unusually large call buying (22,656 calls) signals speculative bullish positioning; insider activity is mixed (some sales but a CEO purchase), so flows are ambiguous for signaling broad conviction. (See trading summaries in media coverage.)
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns and a downgrade — Morgan Stanley warned the turnaround appears largely priced in and cut its recommendation/target (citing stretched valuation), and some analysts caution about price risk after a strong YTD run; that has prompted profit‑taking and more cautious positioning. Morgan Stanley Downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Mixed analyst views on sustainability of gains — Several commentaries note the revenue beat was small and question how much of margin improvement is repeatable if volumes soften; that introduces near‑term execution risk and volatility. Analysts Mixed on Q1

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.