CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Upgraded to "Outperform" at Royal Bank Of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada upgraded CSX from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating, increasing its target price to $39.00 from $37.00, suggesting a potential upside of 19.01% from the current stock price.
• Other analysts have also upgraded CSX, with Deutsche Bank raising its rating to "buy" and setting a price target of $40.00, while Barclays and Wells Fargo increased their targets to $38.00 and $37.00, respectively.
• As of the latest report, CSX has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with a current stock price of $32.77 and a twelve-month high of $37.25.

Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of CSX (NASDAQ:CSX - Free Report) from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $39.00 price target on the transportation company's stock, up from their previous price target of $37.00.

CSX has been the subject of several other reports. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of CSX from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on CSX from $34.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of CSX from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of CSX from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of CSX from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $34.00 to $42.00 in a report on Thursday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CSX currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.41.

CSX Stock Performance

CSX stock traded down $0.45 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $32.98. The stock had a trading volume of 27,072,755 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,422,964. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.68. CSX has a fifty-two week low of $26.22 and a fifty-two week high of $37.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.63.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.57 billion. CSX had a return on equity of 25.48% and a net margin of 21.92%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. Analysts predict that CSX will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. CSX's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.10%.

Institutional Trading of CSX

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CSX. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in CSX during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in CSX in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of CSX in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CSX in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in shares of CSX in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors 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.