CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Price Target Cut to $39.00

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) had its price target trimmed by Stephens from $41.00 to $39.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on CSX. Loop Capital cut their price objective on CSX from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Barclays cut their price target on CSX from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on CSX from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of CSX in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.61.

CSX Stock Performance

Shares of CSX stock opened at $34.12 on Thursday. CSX has a 1 year low of $29.03 and a 1 year high of $40.12. The stock has a market cap of $66.70 billion, a PE ratio of 18.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $34.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.16.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The transportation company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $3.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.68 billion. CSX had a net margin of 24.52% and a return on equity of 29.11%. CSX’s revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that CSX will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. CSX’s payout ratio is currently 26.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CSX

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSX. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its stake in shares of CSX by 149.1% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in CSX by 559.7% during the 1st 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. PFG Advisors raised its position in shares of CSX by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 18,880 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $700,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of CSX by 4.2% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Finally, William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CSX during the second quarter worth approximately $867,000. 73.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.