Citigroup Has Lowered Expectations for CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Stock Price

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) had its price target decreased by Citigroup from $39.00 to $36.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

CSX has been the subject of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of CSX from $34.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $37.00 target price (down from $38.00) on shares of CSX in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of CSX from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of CSX from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $37.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.85.

CSX Stock Performance

Shares of CSX stock opened at $27.82 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $52.43 billion, a PE ratio of 15.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.23. CSX has a 1 year low of $26.22 and a 1 year high of $37.10. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 0.86.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.02). CSX had a net margin of 23.95% and a return on equity of 28.15%. Equities analysts forecast that CSX will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. This is an increase from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CSX

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in CSX in the fourth quarter worth approximately $780,194,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CSX by 89.7% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 20,856,567 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $673,025,000 after acquiring an additional 9,863,587 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of CSX by 40.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 23,350,087 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $753,507,000 after purchasing an additional 6,730,316 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in shares of CSX by 471.9% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 6,748,661 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $217,808,000 after purchasing an additional 5,568,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Management Inc. WI acquired a new position in shares of CSX in the 4th quarter valued at $178,259,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.