CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.01 EPS

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

CSX Stock Down 2.0 %

CSX opened at $34.16 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market cap of $66.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.57, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.18. CSX has a 52 week low of $29.03 and a 52 week high of $40.12. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.32.

CSX Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. This is a positive change from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on CSX. Susquehanna upped their price target on CSX from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on CSX in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a “hold” rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen upped their price target on CSX from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on CSX from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CSX currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.33.

Institutional Trading of CSX

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. West Family Investments Inc. lifted its position in CSX by 5.3% during the first quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 8,672 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 434 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in CSX by 23.5% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,101 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 590 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its position in CSX by 3.4% during the first quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 14,017 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $525,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its position in CSX by 13.5% during the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 36,509 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,367,000 after buying an additional 4,343 shares during the period. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its position in CSX by 133.8% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 6,870 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 3,931 shares during the period. 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.