Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Stock

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) had its target price boosted by stock analysts at Citigroup from $42.00 to $44.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Citigroup’s target price points to a potential upside of 20.61% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of CSX in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Stephens cut their target price on CSX from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays reduced their price target on CSX from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of CSX from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CSX has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.78.

CSX Stock Up 1.0 %

CSX stock opened at $36.48 on Tuesday. CSX has a 1-year low of $30.86 and a 1-year high of $40.12. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $34.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.52, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.19.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The transportation company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $3.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.68 billion. CSX had a return on equity of 28.92% and a net margin of 24.77%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that CSX will post 1.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CSX

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CSX. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its position in shares of CSX by 149.1% during the 2nd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 17,208 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $575,000 after acquiring an additional 10,301 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in CSX by 559.7% during the first quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 58,779 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,179,000 after purchasing an additional 49,869 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in CSX by 20.8% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 467,399 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $16,139,000 after purchasing an additional 80,423 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in CSX by 3.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,348,543 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $81,095,000 after purchasing an additional 77,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of CSX by 4.2% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 597,426 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $22,146,000 after buying an additional 23,938 shares in the last quarter. 73.57% of the stock is 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.