CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Receives “Buy” Rating from Benchmark

Benchmark reissued their buy rating on shares of CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) in a report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $40.00 price objective on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on CSX. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of CSX from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of CSX from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of CSX in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CSX currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $37.72.

CSX Price Performance

NASDAQ CSX opened at $34.39 on Thursday. CSX has a 52 week low of $29.03 and a 52 week high of $40.12. The company has a market cap of $67.32 billion, a PE ratio of 18.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.18. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.32.

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

CSX Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CSX

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSX. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in CSX by 101,926.4% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 23,323,241 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $722,554,000 after buying an additional 23,300,381 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of CSX in the 4th quarter worth about $757,276,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of CSX by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 64,807,961 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,246,893,000 after purchasing an additional 9,914,656 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of CSX by 558.0% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,800,925 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $203,620,000 after purchasing an additional 5,767,302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of CSX by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 40,353,078 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,399,104,000 after purchasing an additional 5,041,679 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.