CSX Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:CSX)

CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders purchased 5,873 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 62% compared to the average daily volume of 3,617 call options.

Institutional Trading of CSX

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in CSX by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,340,514 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $748,471,000 after acquiring an additional 739,411 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in CSX by 3,241.9% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 235,304 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $8,158,000 after acquiring an additional 228,263 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of CSX by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 723,344 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,078,000 after acquiring an additional 34,730 shares during the period. Partners Group Holding AG increased its stake in shares of CSX by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Partners Group Holding AG now owns 704,544 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $24,427,000 after purchasing an additional 149,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CSX in the 4th quarter worth $1,279,000. 73.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CSX Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CSX traded up $0.32 during trading on Friday, hitting $33.35. 2,891,402 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,886,425. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $65.20 billion, a PE ratio of 18.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.19. CSX has a 52-week low of $29.03 and a 52-week high of $40.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $33.51 and a 200 day moving average of $35.12.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The transportation company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.01. CSX had a net margin of 24.75% and a return on equity of 29.58%. The firm had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.48 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CSX will post 1.96 EPS for the current year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on CSX. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of CSX from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on CSX in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of CSX from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of CSX from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.59.

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.