CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on CSX, with 18 buy ratings, seven holds and one sell among 26 analysts. The average 12-month price target is approximately $51.31, with recent targets ranging from $51 to $58.
• CSX exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.54 in EPS versus a $0.52 consensus estimate and $3.94 billion in revenue versus $3.89 billion expected. Revenue increased 10.1% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, equivalent to $0.56 annually and a 1.1% yield. Recent insider activity was negative, with two executives selling a combined 43,000 shares.

Shares of CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty-six research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and eighteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $51.3148.

CSX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and set a $52.00 target price (up from $49.00) on shares of CSX in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Evercore set a $51.00 target price on CSX in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of CSX from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Citizens Jmp started coverage on CSX in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $56.00 price target on shares of CSX in a research report on Monday, July 13th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CSX news, SVP Michael Burns sold 13,000 shares of CSX stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.68, for a total transaction of $684,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 59,643 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,141,993.24. The trade was a 17.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Angela Williams sold 30,000 shares of CSX 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at $556,187.73. This trade represents a 74.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CSX

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in CSX by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 16,254 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $525,000 after buying an additional 849 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its holdings in shares of CSX by 3.2% in the second quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 74,410 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,428,000 after purchasing an additional 2,281 shares during the period. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CSX during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of CSX by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 405,828 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $13,242,000 after purchasing an additional 3,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC lifted its position in CSX by 22.5% in the third quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 148,355 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $5,268,000 after buying an additional 27,280 shares during the last quarter. 73.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CSX Stock Performance

CSX stock opened at $48.95 on Friday. CSX has a twelve month low of $32.18 and a twelve month high of $53.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company's 50-day moving average price is $50.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.12. The company has a market cap of $90.68 billion, a PE ratio of 28.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.21.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.89 billion. CSX had a return on equity of 24.98% and a net margin of 22.21%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.44 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CSX will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Dividend Announcement

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

About CSX

CSX Corporation NASDAQ: CSX is a transportation company that operates one of the largest rail networks in the eastern United States. Through its CSX Transportation subsidiary, the company provides rail freight transportation and logistics services for manufacturers, distributors, utilities, agricultural businesses and other commercial customers.

CSX transports a broad range of products, including chemicals, agricultural and food products, minerals, forest products, metals, automobiles and consumer goods.

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