CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

CSX has been the subject of a number of other reports. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target (up from $39.00) on shares of CSX in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of CSX from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of CSX from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $42.00 target price on CSX and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Benchmark boosted their target price on CSX from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.00.

CSX Stock Performance

Shares of CSX stock opened at $36.60 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $68.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.92, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $34.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. CSX has a 12 month low of $26.22 and a 12 month high of $37.25.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The transportation company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.02. CSX had a return on equity of 25.16% and a net margin of 20.55%.The company had revenue of $3.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. CSX’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that CSX will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 28th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CSX

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CSX. Atlas Brown Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CSX in the third quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co grew its stake in shares of CSX by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 17,754 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $630,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of CSX in the 3rd quarter valued at about $274,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in CSX by 5.8% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 28,294 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,005,000 after buying an additional 1,549 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Old Port Advisors acquired a new position in CSX during the third quarter worth about $307,000. 73.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.