CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.01 EPS

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX - Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The transportation company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.01, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.66 billion. CSX had a net margin of 25.35% and a return on equity of 30.52%. The business's revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.48 EPS.

CSX Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of CSX stock traded up $0.23 on Thursday, hitting $34.39. 25,706,975 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,106,769. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $36.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.32. CSX has a twelve month low of $29.03 and a twelve month high of $40.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.32 billion, a PE ratio of 18.69, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.18.

CSX Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This is a boost from CSX's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. CSX's payout ratio is presently 26.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CSX shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of CSX from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of CSX from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of CSX from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of CSX from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.72.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in CSX by 101,926.4% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 23,323,241 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $722,554,000 after purchasing an additional 23,300,381 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of CSX during the fourth quarter worth $621,349,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in CSX by 558.0% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,800,925 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $203,620,000 after acquiring an additional 5,767,302 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in CSX by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 23,385,735 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $810,784,000 after acquiring an additional 4,850,783 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of CSX by 395.9% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,208,520 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $195,059,000 after buying an additional 4,158,204 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.57% of the company's stock.

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.