Stifel Nicolaus Cuts CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Price Target to $34.00

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) had its price target decreased by Stifel Nicolaus from $37.00 to $34.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on CSX. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of CSX in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of CSX in a report on Monday, January 27th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of CSX from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Raymond James lowered their target price on CSX from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of CSX from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.55.

CSX Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of CSX stock opened at $27.35 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 0.86. CSX has a twelve month low of $26.22 and a twelve month high of $37.10. The company has a market capitalization of $51.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.28, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.23.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 28.15% and a net margin of 23.95%. The company had revenue of $3.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that CSX will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.13 dividend. This is an increase from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.05%.

Institutional Trading of CSX

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of CSX during the 4th quarter worth approximately $780,194,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in CSX by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 20,856,567 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $673,025,000 after purchasing an additional 9,863,587 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of CSX by 40.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 23,350,087 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $753,507,000 after purchasing an additional 6,730,316 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its position in shares of CSX by 471.9% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 6,748,661 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $217,808,000 after purchasing an additional 5,568,624 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Management Inc. WI acquired a new stake in shares of CSX during the 4th quarter worth about $178,259,000. Institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

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.