CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and sixteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $47.18.

CSX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of CSX from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Argus upped their target price on shares of CSX from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Vertical Research downgraded shares of CSX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $44.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Stephens lifted their price target on CSX from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price target on CSX from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Kevin S. Boone sold 136,708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.70, for a total transaction of $6,384,263.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 208,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,742,647.40. This trade represents a 39.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John J. Zillmer sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.45, for a total value of $464,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 353,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,430,015.30. This trade represents a 2.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CSX

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Syon Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of CSX by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 28,316 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,026,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its position in CSX by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,757 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC increased its position 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. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lifted its stake in CSX by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 39,996 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,450,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in CSX by 97.4% in 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. 73.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CSX Price Performance

NASDAQ:CSX opened at $48.89 on Monday. CSX has a 1-year low of $31.80 and a 1-year high of $49.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.84 billion, a PE ratio of 29.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.21.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last issued 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 business 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 company earned $0.34 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that CSX will post 1.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.36%.

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.