CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Upgraded by Evercore ISI to Strong-Buy

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Tuesday morning, Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of CSX from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of CSX from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a sector perform rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of CSX in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a research note on Wednesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $38.80.

CSX Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of CSX traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $34.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,875,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,820,301. The stock has a market cap of $66.47 billion, a PE ratio of 18.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. CSX has a 52 week low of $29.03 and a 52 week high of $40.12. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $33.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.01.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The transportation company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. CSX had a net margin of 24.75% and a return on equity of 29.58%. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that CSX will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.37%.

Institutional Trading of CSX

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CSX by 3,241.9% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 235,304 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $8,158,000 after buying an additional 228,263 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of CSX in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CSX by 258.5% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 116,987 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,056,000 after acquiring an additional 84,352 shares in the last quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC acquired a new position in CSX during the 4th quarter worth $292,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in CSX by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 220,724 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,652,000 after buying an additional 40,624 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.