Zacks Research Issues Pessimistic Forecast for CSX Earnings

Key Points

• Zacks Research has revised its Q3 2025 earnings estimate for CSX Corporation from $0.45 to $0.44 per share, with a full-year estimate of $1.83 per share.
• For the previous quarter, CSX reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.44, exceeding analyst estimates, but revenue declined by 3.5% year-over-year.
• The current consensus rating for CSX's stock is "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $37.00, based on analyses from multiple financial firms.

CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q3 2025 earnings estimates for shares of CSX in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, August 6th. Zacks Research analyst M. Basu now forecasts that the transportation company will earn $0.44 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $0.45. The consensus estimate for CSX's current full-year earnings is $1.83 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for CSX's Q4 2025 earnings at $0.45 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $1.68 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $0.41 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.49 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.49 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.51 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $0.52 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $2.11 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of CSX in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on CSX from $34.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group cut their price objective on CSX from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. TD Cowen raised CSX from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CSX from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CSX currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.00.

CSX Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of CSX stock traded up $0.18 during trading on Friday, hitting $35.43. 10,864,400 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,548,876. CSX has a 52-week low of $26.22 and a 52-week high of $37.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.25. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $33.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.63.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.02. CSX had a net margin of 21.92% and a return on equity of 25.48%. The company had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. CSX's quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

CSX Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. CSX's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.10%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CSX. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of CSX by 89.7% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 20,856,567 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $673,025,000 after buying an additional 9,863,587 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of CSX in the 1st quarter valued at $182,550,000. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI purchased a new position in shares of CSX in the 4th quarter valued at $178,259,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of CSX by 21.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 28,383,830 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $835,336,000 after buying an additional 5,033,743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in CSX by 1,283.9% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,190,452 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $123,786,000 after purchasing an additional 3,887,644 shares during the last quarter. 73.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.