CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) Short Interest Up 21.3% in November

CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 28,870,000 shares, a growth of 21.3% from the November 15th total of 23,810,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 11,800,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSX. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of CSX by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,790 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC raised its position in CSX by 0.8% during the second quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 36,127 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,208,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in CSX by 1.8% in the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 17,246 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $595,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its position in shares of CSX by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 23,990 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $830,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the period. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of CSX by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 35,401 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,222,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CSX. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of CSX from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on CSX from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on CSX from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on CSX from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of CSX from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CSX presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.78.

CSX Trading Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ CSX traded down $0.44 on Friday, reaching $33.24. The company had a trading volume of 10,139,346 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,642,540. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. CSX has a 52 week low of $31.74 and a 52 week high of $40.12. The stock has a market cap of $64.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.87, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $34.77 and its 200-day moving average is $34.08.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The transportation company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.68 billion. CSX had a net margin of 24.77% and a return on equity of 28.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. Equities analysts predict that CSX will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.81%.

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.