Analysts Set CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) Target Price at $34.14

CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-one research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $34.14.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Argus set a $32.00 price target on shares of CSX in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of CSX from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of CSX from $31.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of CSX from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of CSX from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th.

CSX Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of CSX stock opened at $32.06 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.75. CSX has a 1 year low of $26.22 and a 1 year high of $37.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $30.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.10. The stock has a market cap of $60.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.20, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.24.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The transportation company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.05). CSX had a return on equity of 26.42% and a net margin of 22.66%. The business had revenue of $3.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that CSX will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.14%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CSX

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CSX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of CSX by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 16,254 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $525,000 after purchasing an additional 849 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CSX by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 26,933 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $869,000 after purchasing an additional 1,614 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of CSX during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of CSX by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,333 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of CSX by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 172,846 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,680,000 after purchasing an additional 6,465 shares in the last quarter. 73.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CSX Company Profile

CSX Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides rail-based freight transportation services. The company offers rail services; and transportation of intermodal containers and trailers, as well as other transportation services, such as rail-to-truck transfers and bulk commodity operations. It also transports chemicals, agricultural and food products, minerals, automotive, forest products, fertilizers, and metals and equipment; and coal, coke, and iron ore to electricity-generating power plants, steel manufacturers, and industrial plants, as well as exports coal to deep-water port facilities.