Brokerages Set CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) Price Target at $41.76

CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $42.1957.

A number of research firms have weighed in on CSX. Bank of America lowered their price target on CSX from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Susquehanna restated a “neutral” rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of CSX in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of CSX in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Argus raised their price target on CSX from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on CSX from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st.

CSX Trading Down 0.8%

NASDAQ CSX opened at $43.37 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.98. CSX has a twelve month low of $27.18 and a twelve month high of $43.80. 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 market capitalization of $80.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.16, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.25.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last released its quarterly 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). CSX had a net margin of 20.50% and a return on equity of 23.88%. The firm had revenue of $3.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that CSX will post 1.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a $0.14 dividend. This is an increase from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.36%.

Insider Transactions at CSX

In related news, CEO Stephen F. Angel acquired 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $40.27 per share, for a total transaction of $1,006,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 146,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,901,165.80. This represents a 20.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Stephen Fortune sold 31,456 shares of CSX stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.65, for a total value of $1,215,774.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 82,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,170,614.10. This represents a 27.72% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 188,123 shares of company stock worth $7,454,854. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC increased its position in shares of CSX by 81.9% during the third quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 944,946 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $33,555,000 after acquiring an additional 425,395 shares during the period. Pinebridge Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of CSX during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,979,000. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CSX during the third quarter worth approximately $5,326,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its position in shares of CSX by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 8,282,107 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $300,226,000 after acquiring an additional 98,977 shares during the period. Finally, Allstate Corp increased its position in shares of CSX by 105.7% during the fourth quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 136,869 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,962,000 after acquiring an additional 70,326 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

About CSX

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.