Equities Analysts Issue Forecasts for CSX FY2026 Earnings

CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research lifted their FY2026 earnings estimates for CSX in a research report issued on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the transportation company will post earnings of $2.00 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $1.90. The consensus estimate for CSX’s current full-year earnings is $1.99 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for CSX’s Q4 2026 earnings at $0.51 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $0.49 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $0.50 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $0.57 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $0.58 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $2.14 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $0.47 EPS, Q2 2028 earnings at $0.54 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $2.27 EPS.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.89 billion. CSX had a net margin of 22.21% and a return on equity of 24.98%. The company’s revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $32.00 price objective on CSX and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on CSX from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $52.00 price target (up from $49.00) on shares of CSX in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on CSX from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, New Street Research set a $49.00 price target on CSX in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.31.

CSX Trading Up 0.2%

CSX stock opened at $51.12 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. CSX has a 12 month low of $31.80 and a 12 month high of $53.60. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.06. The stock has a market cap of $94.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.21.

CSX Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CSX

In other CSX news, Director John J. Zillmer sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.45, for a total transaction of $464,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 353,714 shares in the company, valued at $16,430,015.30. This trade represents a 2.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Angela C. Williams sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.29, for a total value of $1,598,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,187.73. This represents a 74.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 189,708 shares of company stock valued at $9,132,304. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CSX. Pinebridge Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of CSX during the 4th quarter worth about $5,979,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its stake in CSX by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 8,282,107 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $300,226,000 after purchasing an additional 98,977 shares during the last quarter. Allstate Corp lifted its stake in CSX by 105.7% in the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 136,869 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,962,000 after purchasing an additional 70,326 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in CSX by 159.5% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 73,410 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,661,000 after purchasing an additional 45,116 shares during the period. Finally, KTF Investments LLC bought a new position in CSX during the fourth quarter worth about $1,325,000. 73.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting CSX

Here are the key news stories impacting CSX this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised nearly all of its CSX earnings forecasts. Estimates increased for Q4 2026 EPS to $0.51 from $0.49, fiscal 2026 EPS to $2.00 from $1.90, fiscal 2027 EPS to $2.14 from $2.10, and fiscal 2028 EPS to $2.27 from $2.16. Several quarterly forecasts were also lifted, including Q1 2027, Q2 2027, Q1 2028 and Q2 2028. The revisions imply improving expectations for CSX’s earnings growth and are the clearest positive catalyst for the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent results highlighted strong intermodal demand, with more freight moving by rail instead of truck and steady pricing helping CSX achieve record quarterly revenue of $3.94 billion. CSX also exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.54 EPS versus the $0.52 consensus estimate. Here’s How Intermodal Demand Is Positioning CSX Corp. for Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: A Zacks revision reduced Q3 2027 EPS to $0.57 from $0.60, partially offsetting the broader upward revisions. However, the firm maintained its higher full-year 2027 and 2028 forecasts.
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage comparing CSX with transportation peers provides context on its year-to-date performance but does not introduce a new company-specific earnings or operational catalyst. Is CSX Stock Outpacing Its Transportation Peers This Year?
• Negative Sentiment: A report about an alleged theft of nearly $44,000 in tires from a CSX train is reputationally unfavorable, but the incident appears too small to materially affect the company’s financial outlook.

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.