Investors Purchase High Volume of CSX Call Options (NASDAQ:CSX)

CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 19,660 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 179% compared to the average daily volume of 7,046 call options.

CSX Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:CSX traded down $0.27 during trading on Friday, hitting $32.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,032,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,250,659. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $29.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.27. The company has a market capitalization of $60.34 billion, a PE ratio of 17.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 0.86. CSX has a fifty-two week low of $26.22 and a fifty-two week high of $37.10.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The transportation company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $3.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.53 billion. CSX had a net margin of 23.95% and a return on equity of 28.15%. As a group, research analysts expect that CSX will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. CSX's payout ratio is currently 31.14%.

Institutional Trading of CSX

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of CSX by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 117,579 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,794,000 after buying an additional 15,029 shares during the period. Waycross Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of CSX by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Waycross Partners LLC now owns 619,471 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $19,990,000 after buying an additional 40,611 shares during the period. Cercano Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of CSX during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,869,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of CSX by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 41,633,333 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,339,555,000 after buying an additional 726,507 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CSX by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 26,933 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $869,000 after buying an additional 1,614 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.57% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CSX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on CSX from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on CSX in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $34.00 price target for the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on CSX from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays reduced their price objective on CSX from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on CSX from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.14.

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.