CSX (CSX) Scheduled to Post Quarterly Earnings on Wednesday

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX - Get Free Report) is scheduled to be issuing its quarterly earnings data after the market closes on Wednesday, April 17th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.45 per share for the quarter. Parties that wish to listen to the company's conference call can do so using this link.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.01. CSX had a return on equity of 30.52% and a net margin of 25.35%. The business had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. The business's revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect CSX to post $2 EPS for the current fiscal year and $2 EPS for the next fiscal year.

CSX Stock Performance

CSX traded down $0.54 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $35.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,709,480 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,647,424. CSX has a fifty-two week low of $29.03 and a fifty-two week high of $40.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.32 billion, a PE ratio of 19.24, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.17.

CSX Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th were given a $0.12 dividend. This is a boost from CSX's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. CSX's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.09%.

Institutional Trading of CSX

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CSX. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $722,554,000 after buying an additional 23,300,381 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in CSX during the fourth quarter valued at $621,349,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in CSX by 558.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 5,767,302 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in CSX by 26.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 4,850,783 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in CSX by 395.9% during 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on CSX. StockNews.com cut CSX from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Benchmark raised their target price on CSX from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on CSX in a research report on Monday. They issued a "hold" rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of CSX in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on CSX from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $37.17.

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.