CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) Short Interest Down 12.6% in February

CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 25,710,000 shares, a decline of 12.6% from the January 31st total of 29,430,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 12,760,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CSX. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of CSX in a report on Friday, January 24th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of CSX in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of CSX from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.16.

CSX Price Performance

CSX opened at $30.93 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.64. The firm has a market cap of $59.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.28, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.23. CSX has a twelve month low of $30.55 and a twelve month high of $38.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 23.95% and a return on equity of 28.15%. Equities research analysts expect that CSX will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. This is a positive change from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CSX

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in CSX by 180.7% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 72,197 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,330,000 after acquiring an additional 46,473 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC bought a new position in CSX during the 4th quarter valued at $1,084,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in CSX by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 3,374,499 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $116,521,000 after acquiring an additional 24,430 shares during the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its stake in CSX by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 612,051 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $19,751,000 after acquiring an additional 8,474 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in CSX by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,348,543 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $81,095,000 after acquiring an additional 77,488 shares during the last quarter. 73.57% of the stock is 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.