CSX's (CSX) "Buy" Rating Reiterated at Benchmark

Benchmark restated their buy rating on shares of CSX (NASDAQ:CSX - Free Report) in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $35.00 price target on the transportation company's stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital lowered shares of CSX from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $34.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on CSX from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on CSX in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $34.00 price target for the company. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $38.00 price target on shares of CSX in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of CSX from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $33.95.

CSX Stock Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ CSX traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $27.78. 13,606,137 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,737,381. CSX has a 52 week low of $26.22 and a 52 week high of $37.10. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $29.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.43. The company has a market cap of $52.36 billion, a PE ratio of 15.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The transportation company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.05). CSX had a net margin of 23.95% and a return on equity of 28.15%. The firm had revenue of $3.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.53 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CSX will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This is an increase from CSX's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. CSX's payout ratio is presently 31.14%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CSX

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in CSX in the 4th quarter valued at about $780,194,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CSX by 89.7% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 20,856,567 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $673,025,000 after acquiring an additional 9,863,587 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in CSX by 40.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 23,350,087 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $753,507,000 after purchasing an additional 6,730,316 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in shares of CSX by 471.9% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 6,748,661 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $217,808,000 after buying an additional 5,568,624 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Management Inc. WI purchased a new position in CSX in the fourth quarter worth $178,259,000. 73.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CSX Company Profile

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.