Loop Capital Downgrades CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) to Hold

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) was downgraded by investment analysts at Loop Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $34.00 target price on the transportation company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $40.00. Loop Capital’s price target indicates a potential upside of 3.44% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on CSX from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of CSX from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of CSX in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of CSX from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.16.

CSX Stock Performance

CSX opened at $32.87 on Monday. CSX has a twelve month low of $31.43 and a twelve month high of $40.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.39 billion, a PE ratio of 18.36, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $33.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.89.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.02). CSX had a return on equity of 28.15% and a net margin of 23.95%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CSX will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of CSX

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in CSX by 20.8% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 467,399 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $16,139,000 after purchasing an additional 80,423 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co raised its position in CSX by 180.7% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 72,197 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,330,000 after purchasing an additional 46,473 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of CSX in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,084,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of CSX by 0.7% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 3,374,499 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $116,521,000 after buying an additional 24,430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carnegie Investment Counsel increased its stake in shares of CSX by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 612,051 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $19,751,000 after buying an additional 8,474 shares during the period. 73.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CSX Company Profile

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.