Stifel Nicolaus Raises CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Price Target to $39.00

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) had its price objective boosted by Stifel Nicolaus from $37.00 to $39.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

CSX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of CSX in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a hold rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Susquehanna raised their price target on CSX from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of CSX from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $37.28.

CSX Price Performance

Shares of CSX opened at $35.14 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $68.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.18. CSX has a 1 year low of $29.03 and a 1 year high of $40.12. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $37.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.01. CSX had a net margin of 25.35% and a return on equity of 30.52%. The business had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.63 billion. CSX’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that CSX will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This is a positive change from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.09%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Value Partners Investments Inc. bought a new position in CSX in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,172,000. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of CSX by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,340,514 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $748,471,000 after purchasing an additional 739,411 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in CSX by 142.9% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,278,601 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $100,147,000 after acquiring an additional 1,928,891 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of CSX by 3,241.9% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 235,304 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,158,000 after purchasing an additional 228,263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of CSX during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,279,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

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.