CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.01 EPS

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The transportation company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.01, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.66 billion. CSX had a net margin of 25.35% and a return on equity of 30.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.48 EPS.

CSX Trading Down 2.0 %

CSX stock opened at $34.16 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $36.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.57, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.18. CSX has a 52-week low of $29.03 and a 52-week high of $40.12.

CSX Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This is an increase from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on CSX. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of CSX from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of CSX in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of CSX from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of CSX from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of CSX from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CSX presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CSX. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of CSX by 101,926.4% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 23,323,241 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $722,554,000 after acquiring an additional 23,300,381 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of CSX in the 4th quarter worth approximately $621,349,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of CSX by 558.0% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,800,925 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $203,620,000 after acquiring an additional 5,767,302 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of CSX by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 23,385,735 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $810,784,000 after acquiring an additional 4,850,783 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of CSX by 395.9% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,208,520 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $195,059,000 after acquiring an additional 4,158,204 shares during the period. 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.