CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Upgraded by Evercore ISI to Strong-Buy

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

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of CSX from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America cut shares of CSX from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $37.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of CSX in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They set an equal weight rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Benchmark reissued a buy rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of CSX in a research report on Wednesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $38.80.

CSX Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of CSX stock traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $34.00. The stock had a trading volume of 7,875,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,820,301. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $33.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.01. CSX has a 52-week low of $29.03 and a 52-week high of $40.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.47 billion, a PE ratio of 18.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The transportation company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.70 billion. CSX had a net margin of 24.75% and a return on equity of 29.58%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect 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 issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CSX

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of CSX by 0.7% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 65,251,716 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,418,883,000 after purchasing an additional 443,755 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its position in CSX by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 40,353,078 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,399,104,000 after buying an additional 5,041,679 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in CSX by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,378,276 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $775,855,000 after buying an additional 470,640 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of CSX in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $757,276,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of CSX by 6.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 17,133,857 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $573,128,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060,204 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.