CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) Receives $39.09 Average PT from Analysts

CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $39.0870.

CSX has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group set a $45.00 price target on shares of CSX and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Baird R W raised shares of CSX to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of CSX from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of CSX from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $38.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $39.00 price target (up from $37.00) on shares of CSX in a research report on Friday, October 17th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Michael S. Burns sold 24,249 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.76, for a total value of $891,393.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 51,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,898,286.40. This represents a 31.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Stephen F. Angel acquired 55,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $36.87 per share, for a total transaction of $2,027,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 58,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,147,087.58. This trade represents a 1,700.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CSX

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CSX. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of CSX by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 16,254 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $525,000 after acquiring an additional 849 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of CSX by 23.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 35,910 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,057,000 after acquiring an additional 6,766 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of CSX by 6.6% in the first quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 20,321 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $598,000 after acquiring an additional 1,260 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of CSX by 8.9% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 260,767 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,674,000 after acquiring an additional 21,360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of CSX by 0.7% in the first quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 341,963 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $10,064,000 after acquiring an additional 2,510 shares in the last quarter. 73.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CSX Stock Performance

Shares of CSX stock opened at $35.68 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The firm has a market cap of $66.44 billion, a PE ratio of 23.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.29. CSX has a 12 month low of $26.22 and a 12 month high of $37.25.

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

CSX Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 28th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is 33.99%.

About CSX

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.