Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on CSX (NASDAQ:CSX)

CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors acquired 81,533 call options on the company. This is an increase of 647% compared to the typical volume of 10,919 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of CSX from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Stephens upped their target price on shares of CSX from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $41.00 target price (up from $37.00) on shares of CSX in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of CSX from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of CSX from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of CSX

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its position in CSX by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 8,282,107 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $300,226,000 after acquiring an additional 98,977 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in CSX by 0.3% during the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 3,450,199 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $122,516,000 after acquiring an additional 8,639 shares during the last quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC boosted its position in CSX by 81.9% during the third quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 944,946 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $33,555,000 after acquiring an additional 425,395 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in CSX by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 423,312 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $15,345,000 after acquiring an additional 18,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY boosted its position in CSX by 6.8% during the first quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 238,817 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,803,000 after acquiring an additional 15,310 shares during the last quarter. 73.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CSX Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of CSX opened at $46.41 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $44.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.42. CSX has a twelve month low of $31.80 and a twelve month high of $47.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.47, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.22.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.04. CSX had a net margin of 21.55% and a return on equity of 24.47%. The company had revenue of $3.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.34 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that CSX will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.