CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $37.28 and last traded at $37.10, with a volume of 11318479 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $36.37.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CSX. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of CSX from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $37.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of CSX from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Stephens increased their price target on CSX from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. TD Cowen raised their price target on CSX from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on CSX from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CSX has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.71.

CSX Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $69.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.22.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The transportation company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.02. CSX had a return on equity of 24.95% and a net margin of 20.55%.The company had revenue of $3.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that CSX Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other CSX news, CEO Stephen F. Angel acquired 55,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $36.87 per share, for a total transaction of $2,027,850.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 58,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,147,087.58. This represents a 1,700.68% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kevin S. Boone sold 31,053 shares of CSX stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 197,521 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,128,532.89. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CSX

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CSX. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in CSX by 12.5% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 23,456,085 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $690,359,000 after acquiring an additional 2,599,518 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of CSX by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 22,067,356 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $649,442,000 after purchasing an additional 969,567 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of CSX by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 18,742,431 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $551,540,000 after purchasing an additional 1,856,322 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in CSX by 19.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 15,312,107 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $450,635,000 after purchasing an additional 2,454,895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in CSX by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,389,771 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $394,061,000 after buying an additional 1,964,994 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.