CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Downgraded to "Market Perform" Rating by BMO Capital Markets

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets has downgraded CSX from an "outperform" to a "market perform" rating, setting a price target of $38.00, which implies a potential upside of 4.63% from the current stock price.
• CSX reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.44, surpassing the consensus estimate by $0.02, although its revenue decreased by 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year.
• Institutional investors hold approximately 73.57% of CSX stock, indicating significant institutional interest in the company.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at BMO Capital Markets from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report released on Monday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $38.00 price objective on the transportation company's stock. BMO Capital Markets' target price would indicate a potential upside of 9.89% from the stock's current price.

Several other analysts also recently commented on CSX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised CSX from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen raised CSX from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Bank of America raised CSX from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $34.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of CSX in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $37.00.

CSX Stock Performance

Shares of CSX stock traded down $1.29 on Monday, hitting $34.58. The stock had a trading volume of 81,202,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,653,506. The company's 50 day moving average price is $34.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market cap of $64.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.25. CSX has a 52-week low of $26.22 and a 52-week high of $37.25.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.57 billion. CSX had a return on equity of 25.48% and a net margin of 21.92%.The firm's revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that CSX will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CSX

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 5,033,743 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in CSX by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 23,456,085 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $690,359,000 after purchasing an additional 2,599,518 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in CSX by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 22,067,356 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $649,442,000 after purchasing an additional 969,567 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in CSX by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 21,124,807 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $681,696,000 after buying an additional 707,934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in CSX by 11.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 18,742,431 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $551,540,000 after buying an additional 1,856,322 shares in 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.