CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.01 EPS

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The transportation company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.01, Briefing.com reports. CSX had a net margin of 25.35% and a return on equity of 30.52%. The business had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.48 EPS. CSX’s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year.

CSX Price Performance

CSX stock opened at $34.16 on Thursday. CSX has a 1 year low of $29.03 and a 1 year high of $40.12. The company has a market cap of $66.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.57, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $36.98 and a 200 day moving average of $34.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

CSX Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a $0.12 dividend. This is an increase from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CSX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of CSX from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of CSX from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of CSX in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “hold” rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of CSX from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of CSX from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CSX presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.28.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CSX

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CSX. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in CSX by 101,926.4% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 23,323,241 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $722,554,000 after buying an additional 23,300,381 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in CSX in the fourth quarter worth about $621,349,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of CSX by 558.0% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,800,925 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $203,620,000 after purchasing an additional 5,767,302 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of CSX by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 23,385,735 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $810,784,000 after purchasing an additional 4,850,783 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of CSX by 395.9% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,208,520 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $195,059,000 after purchasing an additional 4,158,204 shares in the last quarter. 73.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.