CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Reaches New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Susquehanna raised their price target on the stock from $44.00 to $50.00. Susquehanna currently has a neutral rating on the stock. CSX traded as high as $47.34 and last traded at $47.35, with a volume of 497226 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $46.99.

CSX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of CSX in a report on Monday, June 1st. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of CSX in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Vertical Research downgraded CSX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $44.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of CSX from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CSX news, Director John J. Zillmer sold 10,000 shares of CSX stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.45, for a total value of $464,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 353,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,430,015.30. The trade was a 2.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kevin S. Boone sold 136,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.70, for a total transaction of $6,384,263.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 208,622 shares in the company, valued at $9,742,647.40. This trade represents a 39.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CSX

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FNY Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in CSX by 437.3% in the 3rd quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 720 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 586 shares during the period. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CSX during the second quarter worth $28,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of CSX by 97.4% in the first quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 829 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. CrossGen Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CSX in the fourth quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, Aventura Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in CSX in the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. 73.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CSX Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $87.60 billion, a PE ratio of 29.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $44.12 and a 200-day moving average of $40.15.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.50 billion. CSX had a return on equity of 24.47% and a net margin of 21.55%.CSX’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.34 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that CSX Corporation will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. CSX’s payout ratio is currently 34.36%.

About CSX

CSX Corporation is a leading North American transportation company that provides rail-based freight services and supply-chain solutions. Its operating subsidiary, CSX Transportation, moves a wide range of goods for customers across multiple industries, using a combination of long-haul rail service, intermodal operations and terminal and yard services. The company focuses on delivering efficient, reliable freight transportation between major production centers, consumption markets and port gateways.

CSX’s freight portfolio includes intermodal containers and trailers, bulk commodities, industrial products and specialized unit trains.