CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) Short Interest Down 12.6% in February

CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 25,710,000 shares, a decrease of 12.6% from the January 31st total of 29,430,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 12,760,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CSX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $37.00 price target (down previously from $38.00) on shares of CSX in a report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of CSX in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on CSX from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of CSX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of CSX from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.16.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CSX

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CSX. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in CSX by 180.7% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 72,197 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,330,000 after acquiring an additional 46,473 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC bought a new position in CSX during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,084,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in CSX by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 3,374,499 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $116,521,000 after purchasing an additional 24,430 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its position in CSX by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 612,051 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $19,751,000 after purchasing an additional 8,474 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of CSX by 3.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,348,543 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $81,095,000 after buying an additional 77,488 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

CSX Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CSX traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $30.86. 11,709,822 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,528,175. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.51 billion, a PE ratio of 17.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s 50 day moving average is $32.53 and its 200 day moving average is $33.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 1.23. CSX has a one year low of $30.55 and a one year high of $38.51.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.02). CSX had a return on equity of 28.15% and a net margin of 23.95%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that CSX will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. This is a positive change from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.05%.

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.