CSX’s (CSX) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at Benchmark

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by stock analysts at Benchmark in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $40.00 price objective on the transportation company’s stock. Benchmark’s target price points to a potential upside of 17.99% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on CSX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on CSX from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of CSX from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on CSX in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of CSX in a research report on Tuesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CSX presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.80.

CSX Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CSX traded up $0.04 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $33.90. The company had a trading volume of 4,264,529 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,830,193. 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 current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $33.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.20.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The transportation company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. CSX had a net margin of 24.75% and a return on equity of 29.58%. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. CSX’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CSX will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of CSX

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Western Wealth Management LLC increased its position in CSX by 0.8% in the second quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 36,127 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,208,000 after buying 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 lifted its position in CSX by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 103,563 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,839,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Team Hewins LLC boosted its stake in CSX by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Team Hewins LLC now owns 18,778 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $696,000 after purchasing 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 worth $4,169,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. 73.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.