CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and sixteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $45.98.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CSX. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of CSX from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of CSX from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Argus boosted their target price on shares of CSX from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of CSX from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Evercore boosted their target price on shares of CSX from $44.00 to $46.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th.

CSX Stock Performance

CSX stock opened at $46.44 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $43.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.97. CSX has a twelve month low of $31.64 and a twelve month high of $47.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $86.29 billion, a PE ratio of 28.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.22.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.04. CSX had a net margin of 21.55% and a return on equity of 24.47%. The firm had revenue of $3.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.34 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CSX will post 1.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Stephen F. Angel purchased 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $40.27 per share, for a total transaction of $1,006,750.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 146,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,901,165.80. This trade represents a 20.57% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CSX

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSX. FNY Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in CSX by 437.3% during the 3rd quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 720 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in CSX during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in CSX by 97.4% during the 1st quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 829 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. CrossGen Wealth LLC bought a new position in CSX during the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Aventura Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in CSX during the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. 73.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.