CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Upgraded at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets reissued an outperform rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of CSX in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America cut shares of CSX from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $37.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, July 8th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of CSX from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CSX currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $38.80.

CSX Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of CSX stock opened at $34.25 on Tuesday. CSX has a fifty-two week low of $29.03 and a fifty-two week high of $40.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.15. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.02. The company has a market cap of $66.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.20.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The transportation company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.70 billion. CSX had a net margin of 24.75% and a return on equity of 29.58%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that CSX will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. CSX’s payout ratio is currently 26.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CSX

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSX. Western Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CSX by 0.8% during the second quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 36,127 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,208,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CSX by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,524 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $385,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of CSX by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 103,563 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,839,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the period. Team Hewins LLC increased its holdings in shares of CSX by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Team Hewins LLC now owns 18,778 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $696,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the period. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in CSX by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 120,244 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,169,000 after buying an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. 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.