CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.00.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CSX. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on CSX from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Loop Capital downgraded CSX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of CSX in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on CSX from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on CSX in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $34.00 target price for the company.

CSX Price Performance

CSX stock opened at $30.01 on Tuesday. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.49. CSX has a 12 month low of $28.98 and a 12 month high of $38.03. The company has a market cap of $56.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.25.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last issued 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that CSX will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This is an increase from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.05%.

Institutional Trading of CSX

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 46,473 shares during the period. Marshall Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of CSX during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,084,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of CSX by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 3,374,499 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $116,521,000 after purchasing an additional 24,430 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its position in shares of CSX by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 612,051 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $19,751,000 after purchasing an additional 8,474 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of CSX by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 653,025 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $22,549,000 after purchasing an additional 41,547 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

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.