CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Downgraded to In-Line Rating by Evercore

Evercore cut shares of CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) from an outperform rating to an in-line rating in a research report released on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $41.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on CSX. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on CSX from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on CSX from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of CSX from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of CSX from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of CSX in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CSX has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.48.

CSX Price Performance

CSX stock opened at $38.49 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.66. The stock has a market cap of $71.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.27. CSX has a 12-month low of $26.22 and a 12-month high of $43.35.

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

CSX Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. This is a positive change from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CSX

In other CSX news, CEO Stephen F. Angel bought 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $40.27 per share, for a total transaction of $1,006,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 146,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,901,165.80. The trade was a 20.57% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Diana B. Sorfleet sold 90,000 shares of CSX stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.56, for a total transaction of $3,740,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 165,613 shares in the company, valued at $6,882,876.28. The trade was a 35.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 188,123 shares of company stock worth $7,454,854. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Syon Capital LLC lifted its holdings in CSX by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 28,316 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,026,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of CSX by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,757 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of CSX by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,324 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the period. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CSX by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 13,048 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CSX by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,235 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $480,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. 73.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About CSX

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.