CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Hits New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $49.00 to $51.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. CSX traded as high as $46.67 and last traded at $46.5180, with a volume of 534047 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $46.08.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Stephens upped their price target on CSX from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 price objective (up from $44.00) on shares of CSX in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on shares of CSX from $45.50 to $47.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of CSX from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, New Street Research set a $49.00 price target on shares of CSX in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CSX has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Diana B. Sorfleet sold 90,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.56, for a total transaction of $3,740,400.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 165,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,882,876.28. This represents a 35.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Stephen F. Angel acquired 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $40.27 per share, with a total value of $1,006,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 146,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,901,165.80. This represents a 20.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of CSX

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CSX. Strategic Investment Advisors MI bought a new position in CSX during the 1st quarter valued at about $103,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in CSX by 23.0% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,559 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $680,000 after purchasing an additional 3,097 shares during the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of CSX by 97.4% during the first quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 829 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the period. Resolute Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of CSX by 15.0% during the first quarter. Resolute Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 7,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $305,000 after buying an additional 970 shares during the period. Finally, S&CO Inc. bought a new position in shares of CSX during the first quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

CSX Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The stock has a market cap of $86.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.57, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $42.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.15.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.04. CSX had a return on equity of 24.47% and a net margin of 21.55%.The company had revenue of $3.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.34 EPS. CSX’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CSX Corporation will post 1.89 EPS for the current year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.36%.

About CSX

CSX Corporation is a leading North American transportation company that provides rail-based freight services and supply-chain solutions. Its operating subsidiary, CSX Transportation, moves a wide range of goods for customers across multiple industries, using a combination of long-haul rail service, intermodal operations and terminal and yard services. The company focuses on delivering efficient, reliable freight transportation between major production centers, consumption markets and port gateways.

CSX’s freight portfolio includes intermodal containers and trailers, bulk commodities, industrial products and specialized unit trains.