CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $38.8333.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CSX. Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $42.00 target price on shares of CSX and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $39.00 target price (up from $37.00) on shares of CSX in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group set a $45.00 price target on CSX and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th.

CSX Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CSX opened at $36.50 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The company has a market capitalization of $67.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.30. CSX has a twelve month low of $26.22 and a twelve month high of $37.54. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.44.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 16th. The transportation company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.60 billion. CSX had a return on equity of 24.95% and a net margin of 20.55%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CSX will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CSX Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CSX news, EVP Kevin S. Boone sold 31,053 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.09, for a total value of $1,120,702.77. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 197,521 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,128,532.89. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Michael S. Burns sold 24,249 shares of CSX stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.76, for a total value of $891,393.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 51,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,898,286.40. This trade represents a 31.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CSX

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSX. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of CSX by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,324 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CSX by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 13,048 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $463,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in CSX by 1.4% in the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 27,329 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $796,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in CSX by 0.9% during the second quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 45,558 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,487,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its position in CSX by 0.7% during the third quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 74,920 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,660,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the period. 73.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About CSX

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.