Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Put Options on CSX (NASDAQ:CSX)

CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors purchased 21,909 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 232% compared to the typical daily volume of 6,596 put options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Stephen F. Angel acquired 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $40.27 per share, with a total value of $1,006,750.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 146,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,901,165.80. The trade was a 20.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Fortune sold 31,456 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.65, for a total transaction of $1,215,774.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 82,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,170,614.10. The trade was a 27.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 188,123 shares of company stock worth $7,454,854. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CSX by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 8,282,107 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $300,226,000 after buying an additional 98,977 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in CSX by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 3,450,199 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $122,516,000 after acquiring an additional 8,639 shares during the period. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC lifted its stake in CSX by 81.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 944,946 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $33,555,000 after purchasing an additional 425,395 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in CSX by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 423,312 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $15,345,000 after purchasing an additional 18,025 shares during the period. Finally, Cohen Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in CSX by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cohen Capital Management Inc. now owns 278,373 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,885,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

CSX Stock Performance

CSX stock traded down $0.49 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $39.82. The stock had a trading volume of 4,921,724 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,773,920. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.05 billion, a PE ratio of 25.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.27. CSX has a 12 month low of $26.22 and a 12 month high of $43.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $39.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.63.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $3.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.59 billion. CSX had a return on equity of 23.88% and a net margin of 20.50%.CSX’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that CSX will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore reduced their price objective on shares of CSX from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $30.00 price target on CSX and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of CSX in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Argus lifted their target price on CSX from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of CSX from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.44.

About CSX

CSX Corporation is a leading North American transportation company that provides rail-based freight services and supply-chain solutions. Its operating subsidiary, CSX Transportation, moves a wide range of goods for customers across multiple industries, using a combination of long-haul rail service, intermodal operations and terminal and yard services. The company focuses on delivering efficient, reliable freight transportation between major production centers, consumption markets and port gateways.

CSX’s freight portfolio includes intermodal containers and trailers, bulk commodities, industrial products and specialized unit trains.