CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $37.54 and last traded at $37.18, with a volume of 19985918 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $37.39.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on CSX. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $39.00 price objective (up from $37.00) on shares of CSX in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Wolfe Research upped their target price on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of CSX from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of CSX from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $37.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of CSX in a research report on Friday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.83.

CSX Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $69.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $35.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.39.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 16th. The transportation company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.60 billion. CSX had a return on equity of 24.95% and a net margin of 20.55%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CSX Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is 33.99%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael S. Burns sold 24,249 shares of CSX stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.76, for a total value of $891,393.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 51,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,898,286.40. The trade was a 31.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kevin S. Boone sold 31,053 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.09, for a total value of $1,120,702.77. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 197,521 shares in the company, valued at $7,128,532.89. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CSX

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CSX. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in CSX by 12.5% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 23,456,085 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $690,359,000 after purchasing an additional 2,599,518 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of CSX by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 22,067,356 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $649,442,000 after buying an additional 969,567 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of CSX by 19.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 15,312,107 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $450,635,000 after buying an additional 2,454,895 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of CSX by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,389,771 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $394,061,000 after acquiring an additional 1,964,994 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its position in CSX by 34.5% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 13,017,397 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $364,357,000 after acquiring an additional 3,341,136 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

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.