Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on CSX (NASDAQ:CSX)

CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 23,447 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 85% compared to the typical volume of 12,676 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at CSX

In other news, CFO Kevin S. Boone sold 136,708 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.70, for a total value of $6,384,263.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 208,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,742,647.40. This trade represents a 39.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John J. Zillmer sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.45, for a total transaction of $464,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 353,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,430,015.30. The trade was a 2.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CSX. FNY Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in shares of CSX in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its position in shares of CSX by 58.0% during the 2nd quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 681 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of CSX by 97.4% during the 1st quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 829 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CrossGen Wealth LLC bought a new stake in CSX during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

CSX Stock Down 0.6%

CSX stock traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $48.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,423,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,211,619. CSX has a 52-week low of $31.80 and a 52-week high of $49.29. The company has a market cap of $90.14 billion, a PE ratio of 29.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $46.23 and its 200 day moving average is $41.77.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.04. CSX had a return on equity of 24.47% and a net margin of 21.55%.The company had revenue of $3.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.34 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that CSX will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current year.

CSX Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CSX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $32.00 target price on CSX and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on CSX from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Evercore set a $47.00 price objective on CSX in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on CSX from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on CSX from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CSX currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.42.

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.