CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Announces Earnings Results

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The transportation company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.01, Briefing.com reports. 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%. CSX’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.48 earnings per share.

CSX Trading Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ CSX opened at $34.34 on Friday. CSX has a twelve month low of $29.03 and a twelve month high of $40.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $67.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.87, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $36.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.35.

CSX Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. This is a boost from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. CSX’s payout ratio is presently 26.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CSX

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hancock Whitney Corp grew its holdings in shares of CSX by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 102,289 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,063,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of CSX by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 77,927 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,414,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of CSX by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,387 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $354,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of CSX by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 11,029 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $342,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of CSX by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 10,790 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. 73.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on CSX from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on CSX from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on CSX from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of CSX in a report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on CSX from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.72.

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.