Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on CSX (NASDAQ:CSX)

CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 21,897 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 141% compared to the typical volume of 9,096 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on CSX. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of CSX in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of CSX from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Benchmark increased their target price on shares of CSX from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Evercore upped their price target on shares of CSX from $44.00 to $46.00 in a report on Monday. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CSX currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.42.

CSX Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:CSX traded down $0.25 during trading on Friday, reaching $45.68. The stock had a trading volume of 5,443,047 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,424,040. CSX has a one year low of $30.17 and a one year high of $46.55. The company has a market capitalization of $84.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.06, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.93.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.04. CSX had a net margin of 21.55% and a return on equity of 24.47%. The business had revenue of $3.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.50 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.34 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that CSX will post 1.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Stephen F. Angel purchased 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $40.27 per share, for a total transaction of $1,006,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 146,540 shares in the company, valued at $5,901,165.80. This trade represents a 20.57% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Diana B. Sorfleet sold 90,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 165,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,882,876.28. The trade was a 35.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CSX

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FNY Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in CSX by 437.3% during the 3rd quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 720 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in CSX in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in CSX by 97.4% in the 1st quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 829 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. CrossGen Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in CSX in the 4th quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Aventura Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in CSX in the 4th quarter worth $63,000. 73.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.