CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $38.80.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of CSX from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on CSX in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of CSX in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on CSX from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of CSX from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th.

CSX Price Performance

CSX stock opened at $34.93 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.16 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.37.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The transportation company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.70 billion. CSX had a return on equity of 29.11% and a net margin of 24.52%. The firm’s revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that CSX will post 1.93 EPS for the current year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.37%.

Institutional Trading of CSX

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its position in shares of CSX by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 19,037 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $660,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in CSX by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,184 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in CSX by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 20,416 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $693,000 after buying an additional 1,422 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in CSX by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 372,586 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $12,918,000 after buying an additional 18,319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AMG National Trust Bank bought a new position in CSX during the 4th quarter worth approximately $424,000. 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.