CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) Receives $37.00 Consensus PT from Analysts

CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $37.00.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CSX shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of CSX from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of CSX in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of CSX from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th.

CSX Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of CSX stock opened at $30.33 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $57.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. CSX has a fifty-two week low of $28.98 and a fifty-two week high of $38.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $32.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.46.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 23.95% and a return on equity of 28.15%. On average, analysts anticipate that CSX will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. This is an increase from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CSX

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CSX. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in CSX in the fourth quarter worth about $780,194,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in CSX by 89.7% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 20,856,567 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $673,025,000 after purchasing an additional 9,863,587 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in CSX by 40.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 23,350,087 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $753,507,000 after purchasing an additional 6,730,316 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in CSX by 471.9% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 6,748,661 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $217,808,000 after purchasing an additional 5,568,624 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Management Inc. WI acquired a new stake in CSX in the fourth quarter worth about $178,259,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

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.