CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) Receives $40.48 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eighteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $40.4792.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CSX shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective (down from $37.00) on shares of CSX in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $30.00 target price on CSX and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on CSX from $39.00 to $42.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of CSX from $43.00 to $41.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 23rd.

Insider Transactions at CSX

In other news, CEO Stephen F. Angel purchased 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $40.27 per share, with a total value of $1,006,750.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 146,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,901,165.80. This represents a 20.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Diana B. Sorfleet sold 90,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 165,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,882,876.28. This represents a 35.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 188,123 shares of company stock valued at $7,454,854 over the last three months. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CSX

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Syon Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 287 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in CSX by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,757 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $172,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in CSX by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,324 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in CSX by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 13,048 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. Finally, Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in CSX by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,235 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $480,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. 73.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CSX Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:CSX opened at $38.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $72.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a 50 day moving average of $39.61 and a 200-day moving average of $36.81. CSX has a one year low of $26.22 and a one year high of $43.35.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.02). CSX had a net margin of 20.50% and a return on equity of 23.88%. The business had revenue of $3.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that CSX will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.36%.

CSX Company Profile

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.