CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Shares of CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $43.35 and last traded at $43.17, with a volume of 11788065 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.69.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CSX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research dropped their price target on CSX from $43.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $30.00 price objective on shares of CSX and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $36.00 price objective (down from $37.00) on shares of CSX in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $39.00 target price on shares of CSX in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CSX currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.77.

CSX Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $80.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.15.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $3.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.59 billion. CSX had a return on equity of 23.88% and a net margin of 20.50%.CSX’s quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CSX Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This is a boost from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.36%.

Insider Transactions at CSX

In other news, CAO Diana B. Sorfleet sold 90,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.56, for a total value of $3,740,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 165,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,882,876.28. The trade was a 35.21% decrease in their position. The sale 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 that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 82,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,170,614.10. This trade represents a 27.72% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 188,123 shares of company stock valued at $7,454,854 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSX. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CSX in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of CSX by 437.3% during the 3rd quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 720 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in shares of CSX during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its stake in CSX by 121.5% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 1,329 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CrossGen Wealth LLC bought a new position in CSX in the fourth quarter valued at about $54,000. 73.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CSX Company Profile

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.