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

Shares of CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $51.3148.

CSX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised CSX from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 price target on shares of CSX in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen cut CSX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Citigroup increased their price objective on CSX from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $54.00 target price on shares of CSX in a report on Thursday, July 23rd.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Angela C. Williams sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.29, for a total transaction of $1,598,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,187.73. This represents a 74.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John J. Zillmer sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.45, for a total value of $464,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 353,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,430,015.30. The trade was a 2.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 189,708 shares of company stock worth $9,132,304. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of CSX

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Archer Investment Corp bought a new position in CSX in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CSX in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in shares of CSX during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in CSX during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of CSX in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

CSX Price Performance

CSX stock opened at $51.59 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $95.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $49.38 and its 200 day moving average is $45.15. CSX has a 52 week low of $31.80 and a 52 week high of $53.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.82.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. CSX had a net margin of 22.21% and a return on equity of 24.98%. The business had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that CSX will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

CSX Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.37%.

About CSX

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.