CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 24,050,000 shares, an increase of 19.6% from the September 15th total of 20,110,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 10,740,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its position in CSX by 149.1% during the second quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 17,208 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $575,000 after acquiring an additional 10,301 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC lifted its position in CSX by 559.7% during the first quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 58,779 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,179,000 after purchasing an additional 49,869 shares during the period. PFG Advisors increased its stake in CSX by 2.1% in the first quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 18,880 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $700,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of CSX by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 597,426 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $22,146,000 after purchasing an additional 23,938 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in CSX in the second quarter valued at about $867,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on CSX shares. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of CSX in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Barclays dropped their price objective on CSX from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on CSX from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of CSX in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded CSX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.19.

CSX Stock Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ CSX traded up $0.33 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $35.83. 4,514,620 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,432,641. CSX has a fifty-two week low of $29.03 and a fifty-two week high of $40.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.05 billion, a PE ratio of 19.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.98.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The transportation company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. CSX had a return on equity of 29.11% and a net margin of 24.52%. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that CSX will post 1.93 EPS for the current year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.37%.

CSX Company Profile

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.