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

Shares of CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eighteen have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong 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 $38.8750.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CSX. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of CSX in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of CSX from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of CSX from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of CSX from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CSX news, EVP Kevin S. Boone sold 31,053 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.09, for a total transaction of $1,120,702.77. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 197,521 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,128,532.89. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael S. Burns sold 24,249 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.76, for a total value of $891,393.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 51,640 shares in the company, valued at $1,898,286.40. This represents a 31.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CSX

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FNY Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 586 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CSX during the third quarter worth $67,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. boosted its position in CSX by 49.8% during the third quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 16,022 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $545,000 after purchasing an additional 5,326 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC grew its stake in CSX by 22.5% in the third quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 148,355 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,268,000 after purchasing an additional 27,280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in CSX in the 3rd quarter worth about $431,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

CSX Trading Up 0.1%

CSX stock opened at $36.27 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $67.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.30. CSX has a 1 year low of $26.22 and a 1 year high of $37.54. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $35.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.85.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 16th. The transportation company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.60 billion. CSX had a return on equity of 24.95% and a net margin of 20.55%.The company’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that CSX will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. CSX’s payout ratio is presently 33.99%.

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.