CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.14 Per Share

CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of 0.14 per share by the transportation company on Friday, March 13th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This is a 7.7% increase from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13.

CSX has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 21 years. CSX has a payout ratio of 27.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect CSX to earn $2.09 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 24.9%.

CSX Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CSX traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $42.34. 861,859 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,919,847. The stock has a market cap of $78.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.49, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.30. CSX has a 1 year low of $26.22 and a 1 year high of $42.81. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.02). CSX had a net margin of 20.50% and a return on equity of 23.88%. The company had revenue of $3.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that CSX will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of CSX in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on CSX from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $36.00 target price (down from $37.00) on shares of CSX in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of CSX in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on CSX from $43.00 to $41.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.77.

CSX Company Profile

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.