Benchmark Reiterates Buy Rating for CSX (NASDAQ:CSX)

Benchmark restated their buy rating on shares of CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) in a research report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $40.00 target price on the transportation company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Raymond James lifted their price objective on CSX from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. TD Cowen upped their target price on CSX from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of CSX from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of CSX from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $38.00.

CSX Stock Performance

CSX stock opened at $34.34 on Thursday. CSX has a fifty-two week low of $29.03 and a fifty-two week high of $40.12. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $67.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.18.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The transportation company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.66 billion. CSX had a net margin of 24.75% and a return on equity of 29.58%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.48 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CSX will post 1.95 EPS for the current year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. This is a positive change from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CSX

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its position in CSX by 0.3% in the first quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 103,563 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,839,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of CSX by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 17,704 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $614,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of CSX by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 28,210 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $978,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in shares of CSX by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 120,244 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,169,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the period. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp boosted its stake in CSX by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 3,064 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. 73.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.