CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $33.86.

CSX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of CSX from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on CSX from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on CSX from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of CSX from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of CSX from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of CSX by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 117,579 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,794,000 after purchasing an additional 15,029 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in CSX by 180.7% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 72,197 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,330,000 after buying an additional 46,473 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC bought a new position in CSX in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,084,000. Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its holdings in CSX by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 612,051 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $19,751,000 after acquiring an additional 8,474 shares during the period. Finally, Waycross Partners LLC lifted its position in CSX by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Waycross Partners LLC now owns 619,471 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $19,990,000 after acquiring an additional 40,611 shares during the last quarter. 73.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CSX Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CSX opened at $28.09 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market cap of $52.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.22. CSX has a 12 month low of $26.22 and a 12 month high of $37.10. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $28.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.95.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The transportation company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.05). CSX had a net margin of 23.95% and a return on equity of 28.15%. The company had revenue of $3.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that CSX will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. This is a boost from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.14%.

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.