CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.50.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of CSX from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of CSX in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of CSX from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a report on Thursday, April 18th.

Institutional Trading of CSX

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of CSX by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 103,563 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,839,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the period. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of CSX by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 17,704 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $614,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of CSX by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 28,210 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $978,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. Team Hewins LLC grew its position in shares of CSX by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Team Hewins LLC now owns 18,778 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $696,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the period. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in CSX by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 120,244 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,169,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. 73.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CSX Price Performance

CSX stock opened at $33.39 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.00. CSX has a one year low of $29.03 and a one year high of $40.12. The stock has a market cap of $65.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.11.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The transportation company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.01. CSX had a net margin of 24.75% and a return on equity of 29.58%. The business had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.48 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that CSX will post 1.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.37%.

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.