Stephens Issues Positive Forecast for CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Stock Price

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) had its price objective lifted by investment analysts at Stephens from $42.00 to $47.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Stephens’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 14.72% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wolfe Research increased their price target on CSX from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on CSX from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of CSX from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Susquehanna reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of CSX in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of CSX from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.19.

CSX Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CSX opened at $40.97 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $40.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.30. CSX has a 52 week low of $26.22 and a 52 week high of $43.35. The company has a market cap of $76.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.61, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.25.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $3.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.59 billion. CSX had a return on equity of 23.88% and a net margin of 20.50%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that CSX will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at CSX

In other news, EVP Stephen Fortune sold 31,456 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.65, for a total transaction of $1,215,774.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 82,034 shares in the company, valued at $3,170,614.10. This trade represents a 27.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Diana B. Sorfleet sold 90,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.56, for a total transaction of $3,740,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 165,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,882,876.28. This trade represents a 35.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 188,123 shares of company stock valued at $7,454,854 in the last ninety days. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CSX

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Union Savings Bank purchased a new position in CSX in the fourth quarter valued at about $138,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of CSX during the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. BNB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in CSX during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,125,000. Align Financial LLC purchased a new position in CSX in the fourth quarter worth $1,021,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of CSX by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 423,312 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $15,345,000 after purchasing an additional 18,025 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

CSX Company Profile

CSX Corporation is a leading North American transportation company that provides rail-based freight services and supply-chain solutions. Its operating subsidiary, CSX Transportation, moves a wide range of goods for customers across multiple industries, using a combination of long-haul rail service, intermodal operations and terminal and yard services. The company focuses on delivering efficient, reliable freight transportation between major production centers, consumption markets and port gateways.

CSX’s freight portfolio includes intermodal containers and trailers, bulk commodities, industrial products and specialized unit trains.