CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $33.86.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective on CSX from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays decreased their price target on CSX from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Loop Capital cut shares of CSX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of CSX from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of CSX in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $34.00 price target on the stock.

CSX Stock Performance

Shares of CSX stock opened at $28.09 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $52.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.69, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a 50 day moving average of $28.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.95. CSX has a 52 week low of $26.22 and a 52 week high of $37.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The transportation company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $3.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. CSX had a return on equity of 28.15% and a net margin of 23.95%. As a group, analysts anticipate that CSX will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. This is a boost from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. CSX’s payout ratio is presently 31.14%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in CSX by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 117,579 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,794,000 after acquiring an additional 15,029 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of CSX by 180.7% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 72,197 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,330,000 after purchasing an additional 46,473 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CSX during the 4th quarter worth about $1,084,000. Carnegie Investment Counsel lifted its holdings in CSX by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 612,051 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $19,751,000 after purchasing an additional 8,474 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waycross Partners LLC boosted its position in CSX by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Waycross Partners LLC now owns 619,471 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $19,990,000 after buying an additional 40,611 shares in the last quarter. 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.