CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Price Target Cut to $44.00 by Analysts at UBS Group

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) had its target price lowered by UBS Group from $46.00 to $44.00 in a research note published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on CSX. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of CSX from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Benchmark reissued a buy rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of CSX in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of CSX from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of CSX from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $37.72.

CSX Stock Performance

Shares of CSX stock opened at $34.39 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.90, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $36.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.32. CSX has a 52 week low of $29.03 and a 52 week high of $40.12.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The transportation company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.66 billion. CSX had a net margin of 24.75% and a return on equity of 29.88%. CSX’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.48 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that CSX will post 1.97 EPS for the current year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend 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 payout ratio is 26.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CSX

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Value Partners Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in CSX in the 3rd quarter worth $1,172,000. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in CSX by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,340,514 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $748,471,000 after acquiring an additional 739,411 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in CSX by 3,241.9% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 235,304 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $8,158,000 after acquiring an additional 228,263 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in CSX in the 4th quarter worth $1,279,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in CSX by 414.8% in the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 51,534 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,585,000 after acquiring an additional 41,524 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.