CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and eighteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $51.2778.

Several equities analysts recently commented on CSX shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of CSX in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $32.00 price objective on shares of CSX and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of CSX from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Argus set a $56.00 target price on shares of CSX in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on CSX from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michael S. Burns sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.68, for a total value of $684,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 59,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,141,993.24. This represents a 17.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Angela C. Williams sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.29, for a total value of $1,598,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 10,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,187.73. The trade was a 74.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CSX

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA bought a new position in CSX during the second quarter worth about $58,000. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CSX by 18.1% in the 2nd quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC now owns 33,664 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,600,000 after purchasing an additional 5,169 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of CSX by 49.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 143,424 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,817,000 after buying an additional 47,565 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of CSX by 28.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 477,559 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $23,510,000 after buying an additional 105,897 shares during the period. Finally, Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in CSX by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 87,709 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,169,000 after buying an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

CSX Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CSX opened at $47.10 on Friday. CSX has a 12 month low of $32.84 and a 12 month high of $53.60. The company has a market cap of $87.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s 50 day moving average is $50.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.89 billion. CSX had a return on equity of 24.98% and a net margin of 22.21%.CSX’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.44 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that CSX will post 2 EPS for the current year.

CSX Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st were given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.37%.

CSX Company Profile

CSX Corporation (NASDAQ: CSX) is a transportation company that operates one of the largest rail networks in the eastern United States. Through its CSX Transportation subsidiary, the company provides rail freight transportation and logistics services for manufacturers, distributors, utilities, agricultural businesses and other commercial customers.

CSX transports a broad range of products, including chemicals, agricultural and food products, minerals, forest products, metals, automobiles and consumer goods.