CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $49.29 and last traded at $49.17, with a volume of 522721 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $48.89.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CSX. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $53.00 price objective (up from $51.00) on shares of CSX in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of CSX from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 target price (up from $44.00) on shares of CSX in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on CSX from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on CSX from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.18.

CSX Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $46.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.77. The firm has a market cap of $91.20 billion, a PE ratio of 30.13, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.97.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.50 billion. CSX had a return on equity of 24.47% and a net margin of 21.55%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.34 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that CSX Corporation will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current year.

CSX Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is 34.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CSX news, CFO Kevin S. Boone sold 136,708 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.70, for a total value of $6,384,263.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 208,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,742,647.40. This represents a 39.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John J. Zillmer sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.45, for a total transaction of $464,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 353,714 shares in the company, valued at $16,430,015.30. The trade was a 2.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CSX

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CSX by 81.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 944,946 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $33,555,000 after acquiring an additional 425,395 shares during the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments LLC purchased a new stake in CSX in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,979,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its stake in CSX by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 8,282,107 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $300,226,000 after purchasing an additional 98,977 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp lifted its stake in CSX by 105.7% during the fourth quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 136,869 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,962,000 after purchasing an additional 70,326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of CSX by 159.5% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 73,410 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,661,000 after buying an additional 45,116 shares during the period. 73.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.