CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) saw a significant decline in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 29,430,000 shares, a decline of 5.3% from the January 15th total of 31,080,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 12,830,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CSX

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CSX. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in CSX by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 12,857,212 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $414,902,000 after purchasing an additional 111,240 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC boosted its stake in CSX by 94.6% during the fourth quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 91,145 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,941,000 after buying an additional 44,298 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in CSX during the fourth quarter worth about $16,311,000. Zimmer Partners LP increased its stake in CSX by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 82,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,662,000 after acquiring an additional 5,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of CSX by 41.1% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 44,721 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,443,000 after acquiring an additional 13,030 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

CSX Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of CSX stock opened at $33.37 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.23. CSX has a 52-week low of $31.43 and a 52-week high of $40.12. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.80.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.02). CSX had a return on equity of 28.15% and a net margin of 23.95%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CSX will post 1.86 EPS for the current year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. This is an increase from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CSX. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of CSX from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $37.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on CSX from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Loop Capital lowered CSX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $40.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $37.00 price objective (down from $38.00) on shares of CSX in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.16.

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.