Short Interest in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) Expands By 7.4%

CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 33,080,000 shares, a growth of 7.4% from the May 31st total of 30,810,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 12,020,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days.

CSX Stock Performance

NASDAQ CSX opened at $33.55 on Thursday. CSX has a twelve month low of $29.03 and a twelve month high of $40.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $65.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.43, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.13.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The transportation company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.66 billion. CSX had a return on equity of 29.58% and a net margin of 24.75%. The company’s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.48 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that CSX will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CSX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of CSX from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America cut their price objective on CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on CSX in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of CSX in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on CSX from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CSX presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.59.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CSX

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in CSX by 4.3% in the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 23,793 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $796,000 after buying an additional 973 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CSX by 18.7% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 18,576 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $621,000 after acquiring an additional 2,926 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in CSX by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 32,689 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,093,000 after acquiring an additional 1,527 shares during the last quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA grew its position in CSX by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA now owns 18,748 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $627,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in CSX by 33.5% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,431 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $387,000 after purchasing an additional 2,619 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

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.