Brokerages Set CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) Target Price at $38.80

Shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $38.80.

CSX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on CSX in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of CSX from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of CSX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, July 8th.

CSX Stock Up 0.4 %

CSX stock opened at $34.93 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $68.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $34.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.01. CSX has a 12 month low of $29.03 and a 12 month high of $40.12.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The transportation company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. CSX had a net margin of 24.52% and a return on equity of 29.11%. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that CSX will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current year.

CSX Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CSX

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CSX. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in CSX by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 64,807,961 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,246,893,000 after buying an additional 9,914,656 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of CSX by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 40,353,078 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,399,104,000 after acquiring an additional 5,041,679 shares during the last quarter. Interval Partners LP lifted its position in shares of CSX by 849.0% in the second quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 5,118,751 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $171,222,000 after acquiring an additional 4,579,344 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CSX during the second quarter valued at $116,430,000. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new position in CSX in the 1st quarter valued at about $126,089,000. 73.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.