CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The transportation company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.01, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.66 billion. CSX had a return on equity of 30.52% and a net margin of 25.35%. The business’s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.48 EPS.

CSX Price Performance

Shares of CSX stock opened at $34.16 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $36.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. CSX has a 12 month low of $29.03 and a 12 month high of $40.12. The company has a market capitalization of $66.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.18.

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 $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. This is an increase from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CSX. Raymond James increased their price objective on CSX from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on CSX from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Benchmark increased their price objective on CSX from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on CSX from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.28.

Institutional Trading of CSX

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its position in shares of CSX by 0.3% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of CSX by 0.5% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in CSX by 3.7% during the second quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,387 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC increased its position in CSX by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 11,029 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC increased its position in CSX by 3.8% during the first quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 10,790 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $323,000 after buying an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. 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.