CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.72.

Several brokerages recently commented on CSX. Susquehanna upped their target price on CSX from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Raymond James increased their price target on CSX from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on CSX from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Bank of America cut their price target on CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered CSX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st.

Institutional Trading of CSX

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CSX. New Century Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of CSX in the first quarter worth $226,000. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of CSX in the first quarter worth $200,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of CSX by 13.5% in the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 48,775 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,808,000 after acquiring an additional 5,808 shares during the period. Massachusetts Wealth Management boosted its stake in CSX by 5.6% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 37,540 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,392,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Finally, Norden Group LLC grew its position in CSX by 3,713.7% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 303,072 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,235,000 after buying an additional 295,125 shares in the last quarter. 73.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CSX Price Performance

Shares of CSX opened at $34.34 on Friday. CSX has a 12-month low of $29.03 and a 12-month high of $40.12. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market cap of $67.22 billion, a PE ratio of 18.87, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.18.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The transportation company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.66 billion. CSX had a return on equity of 29.88% and a net margin of 24.75%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.48 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that CSX will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. This is an increase from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.37%.

CSX Company Profile

CSX Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides rail-based freight transportation services. The company offers rail services; and transportation of intermodal containers and trailers, as well as other transportation services, such as rail-to-truck transfers and bulk commodity operations. It also transports chemicals, agricultural and food products, minerals, automotive, forest products, fertilizers, and metals and equipment; and coal, coke, and iron ore to electricity-generating power plants, steel manufacturers, and industrial plants, as well as exports coal to deep-water port facilities.