TD Cowen Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Stock

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) had its price objective raised by equities research analysts at TD Cowen from $46.00 to $54.00 in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the transportation company’s stock. TD Cowen’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 1.45% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on CSX. Weiss Ratings downgraded CSX from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Argus raised their price objective on CSX from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Vertical Research downgraded CSX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $44.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on CSX from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, New Street Research set a $49.00 price target on shares of CSX in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, CSX currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.17.

CSX Price Performance

Shares of CSX opened at $53.23 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.61 billion, a PE ratio of 30.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.83. CSX has a 1-year low of $31.80 and a 1-year high of $53.41. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $47.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.15.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.89 billion. CSX had a return on equity of 24.98% and a net margin of 22.21%.The firm’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that CSX will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at CSX

In related news, CFO Kevin S. Boone sold 136,708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.70, for a total transaction of $6,384,263.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 208,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,742,647.40. This trade represents a 39.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John J. Zillmer sold 10,000 shares of CSX 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 owned 353,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,430,015.30. This represents a 2.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CSX

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in 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. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its holdings in CSX by 3.2% during the second quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 74,410 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,428,000 after buying an additional 2,281 shares in the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in CSX during the second quarter worth $28,000. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in CSX by 0.8% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 405,828 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $13,242,000 after buying an additional 3,162 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC grew its position in CSX by 22.5% during the third quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 148,355 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,268,000 after buying an additional 27,280 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

CSX News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting CSX this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CSX reported record Q2 revenue of $3.94 billion and EPS of $0.54, beating estimates, with profit, operating income and margins all improving year over year. The company also raised its full-year 2026 outlook on stronger intermodal demand, pricing gains and cost controls.
• Positive Sentiment: Several major brokerages turned more optimistic after the earnings beat. JPMorgan, Bank of America, TD Cowen, Citigroup and UBS either raised price targets or reaffirmed bullish ratings, signaling improving confidence in CSX’s outlook.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted CSX hitting fresh 52-week highs and noted that volume growth is starting to translate into earnings, which supports the stock’s momentum.
• Neutral Sentiment: CSX was also reported to have essentially flat short interest data in July, which does not appear to be a meaningful trading driver.
• Neutral Sentiment: A separate news item about a crane collapse at a CSX train yard involved contractors and does not appear to be a direct financial impact on the company at this time.
• Negative Sentiment: Not all analyst views are positive: Morgan Stanley reiterated a Sell rating with a $32 price target, citing limited upside despite the earnings beat.

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.