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

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The transportation company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.01, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.66 billion. CSX had a return on equity of 29.58% and a net margin of 24.75%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.48 earnings per share.

CSX Stock Performance

Shares of CSX stock opened at $34.34 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $36.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.35. CSX has a 52-week low of $29.03 and a 52-week high of $40.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.22 billion, a PE ratio of 18.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.18.

CSX Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th were given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This is a boost from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. CSX’s payout ratio is 26.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CSX

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its position in CSX by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 102,289 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,063,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in CSX by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 77,927 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,414,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in CSX by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,387 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC increased its position in CSX by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 11,029 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the period. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC increased its position in CSX by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 10,790 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CSX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on CSX from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on CSX from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on CSX from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on CSX from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.72.

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.