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

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) had its target price hoisted by Stifel Nicolaus from $37.00 to $39.00 in a report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of CSX in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a hold rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of CSX from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of CSX from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a sector perform rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CSX currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $37.28.

CSX Stock Down 0.6 %

CSX stock opened at $35.14 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. CSX has a 52 week low of $29.03 and a 52 week high of $40.12. The company has a market cap of $68.79 billion, a PE ratio of 19.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.29.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.01. CSX had a return on equity of 30.52% and a net margin of 25.35%. The company had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. CSX’s revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CSX will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a $0.12 dividend. This is a boost from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is 26.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CSX

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Value Partners Investments Inc. bought a new position in CSX during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,172,000. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of CSX by 3.1% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,340,514 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $748,471,000 after acquiring an additional 739,411 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in CSX by 142.9% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,278,601 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $100,147,000 after acquiring an additional 1,928,891 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in CSX by 3,241.9% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 235,304 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $8,158,000 after acquiring an additional 228,263 shares during the period. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of CSX in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,279,000. 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.