CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Shares of CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $46.92 and last traded at $46.9180, with a volume of 357486 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.61.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CSX shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on CSX from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. TD Cowen raised their price target on CSX from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 price target (up from $44.00) on shares of CSX in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on CSX from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on CSX from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.98.

CSX Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $85.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.10, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $43.26 and a 200-day moving average of $39.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.04. CSX had a return on equity of 24.47% and a net margin of 21.55%.The company had revenue of $3.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.34 earnings per share. CSX’s revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CSX Corporation will post 1.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is 34.36%.

Insider Transactions at CSX

In other news, CEO Stephen F. Angel acquired 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $40.27 per share, with a total value of $1,006,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 146,540 shares in the company, valued at $5,901,165.80. This trade represents a 20.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of CSX

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CSX. FNY Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in CSX by 437.3% during the 3rd quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 720 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in CSX in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. CrossGen Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CSX during the fourth quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Aventura Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CSX during the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. Institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

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.