CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Reaches New 52-Week Low After Analyst Downgrade

CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $39.00 to $36.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. CSX traded as low as $28.28 and last traded at $28.49, with a volume of 3047316 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.74.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on CSX. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of CSX in a research report on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on CSX from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on CSX from $34.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of CSX from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on CSX from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.20.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in CSX by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 82,250,713 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,840,117,000 after buying an additional 455,258 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CSX by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 41,633,333 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,339,555,000 after purchasing an additional 726,507 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in CSX by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 25,103,077 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $810,076,000 after purchasing an additional 2,977,212 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CSX by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,956,467 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $805,345,000 after buying an additional 299,536 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of CSX during the 4th quarter worth approximately $780,194,000. 73.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CSX Trading Down 4.3 %

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 company’s 50-day moving average is $31.54 and its 200 day moving average is $33.12. The company has a market cap of $53.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.22.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Research analysts predict that CSX Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This is a positive change from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. CSX’s dividend payout ratio 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.