CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $38.00.

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of CSX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of CSX from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. UBS Group lowered 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. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of CSX from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th.

CSX Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CSX opened at $33.67 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $65.82 billion, a PE ratio of 18.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $36.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.45. CSX has a fifty-two week low of $29.03 and a fifty-two week high of $40.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The transportation company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.66 billion. CSX had a net margin of 24.75% and a return on equity of 29.58%. CSX’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.48 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CSX will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were given a $0.12 dividend. This is an increase from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.37%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CSX by 2.1% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 648,101 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $24,025,000 after purchasing an additional 13,426 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CSX by 3.2% during the first quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 39,027 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,447,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CSX during the first quarter worth approximately $185,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CSX by 27.8% during the first quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 36,779 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,363,000 after purchasing an additional 7,994 shares during the period. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CSX during the first quarter worth approximately $3,996,000. 73.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CSX Company Profile

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.