Traders Buy Large Volume of CSX Call Options (NASDAQ:CSX)

Key Points

• CSX Corporation experienced a significant spike in options trading, with traders purchasing 93,287 call options, marking a 349% increase from the typical daily volume.
• Analyst reports show increasing confidence in CSX, with multiple firms raising their price targets, including Citigroup's increase from $36.00 to $38.00 and Deutsche Bank's adjustment to $40.00.
• CSX announced a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 1.5%, with a dividend payout ratio of 32.10%.

CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Traders purchased 93,287 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 349% compared to the typical daily volume of 20,779 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CSX

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSX. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in CSX during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in shares of CSX during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in shares of CSX during the second quarter worth $28,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CSX during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Kessler Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of CSX during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. 73.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CSX has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of CSX from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of CSX from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of CSX from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of CSX from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $37.41.

CSX Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CSX traded up $0.78 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $33.98. 13,486,357 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,765,799. 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 has a 52-week low of $26.22 and a 52-week high of $37.25. The company's 50 day moving average price is $34.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.25.

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

CSX Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. CSX's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.10%.

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.

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