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

Key Points

• CSX Corporation experienced a significant spike in call options trading, with a purchase of 96,882 call options, marking a 683% increase from the typical volume.
• Several analysts have upgraded their ratings on CSX, with the average price target rising to $37.00, indicating a consensus of "Moderate Buy."
• CSX recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, reflecting a 1.45% dividend yield on an annualized basis.

CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Traders acquired 96,882 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 683% compared to the typical volume of 12,373 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CSX. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on CSX from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating and set a $36.00 price target (up from $33.00) on shares of CSX in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Susquehanna reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of CSX in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of CSX from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on shares of CSX from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.00.

CSX Trading Down 0.8%

CSX traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $35.42. 42,664,059 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,367,524. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $32.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.03 billion, a PE ratio of 21.86, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.23. CSX has a 52-week low of $26.22 and a 52-week high of $37.10.

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

CSX Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. CSX's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.10%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CSX

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in CSX by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 41,633,333 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,339,555,000 after purchasing an additional 726,507 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of CSX by 21.6% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 28,383,830 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $835,336,000 after purchasing an additional 5,033,743 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of CSX by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 25,103,077 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $810,076,000 after purchasing an additional 2,977,212 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of CSX in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $780,194,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in CSX by 12.5% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 23,456,085 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $690,359,000 after acquiring an additional 2,599,518 shares during the last quarter. 73.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.