CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Price Target Raised to $44.00

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) had its price objective raised by Wolfe Research from $42.00 to $44.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Argus raised their price objective on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $30.00 target price on shares of CSX and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $36.00 price target (down from $37.00) on shares of CSX in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Evercore decreased their price objective on CSX from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on CSX from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.44.

CSX Trading Down 2.7%

NASDAQ CSX opened at $39.24 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. CSX has a 52 week low of $26.22 and a 52 week high of $43.35. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $39.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.42. The company has a market cap of $72.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.27.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.02). CSX had a return on equity of 23.88% and a net margin of 20.50%.The firm had revenue of $3.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. CSX’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that CSX will post 1.83 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.14 dividend. This is a boost from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Stephen Fortune sold 31,456 shares of CSX 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 82,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,170,614.10. This trade represents a 27.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Stephen F. Angel acquired 25,000 shares of CSX stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $40.27 per share, with a total value of $1,006,750.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 146,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,901,165.80. This trade represents a 20.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 188,123 shares of company stock worth $7,454,854. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of CSX

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its stake in CSX by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 8,282,107 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $300,226,000 after acquiring an additional 98,977 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 8,639 shares during the last quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in CSX by 4.4% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Cohen Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in CSX by 0.4% in the third 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

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.