Benchmark Raises CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Price Target to $40.00

by · The Markets Daily

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX – Free Report) had its target price lifted by Benchmark from $38.00 to $40.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on CSX in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a hold rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of CSX in a report on Thursday, January 25th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on CSX from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on CSX from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CSX presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $37.28.

Get Our Latest Report on CSX

CSX Price Performance

Shares of CSX stock opened at $35.34 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.18 billion, a PE ratio of 19.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.18. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $37.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.23. CSX has a 12 month low of $29.03 and a 12 month high of $40.12.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.63 billion. CSX had a return on equity of 30.52% and a net margin of 25.35%. The company’s revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that CSX will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This is a boost from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.09%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CSX. Bornite Capital Management LP bought a new position in CSX during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $14,980,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in CSX by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,158,544 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $230,637,000 after buying an additional 347,514 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in CSX by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 122,334 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,581,000 after buying an additional 13,829 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in CSX by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 195,872 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,361,000 after buying an additional 8,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in CSX by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 71,521 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,678,000 after buying an additional 10,276 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

About CSX

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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.

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