CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.12

CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 2nd,Zacks Dividends reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of 0.12 per share by the transportation company on Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th.

CSX has raised its dividend payment by an average of 8.3% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 20 years. CSX has a dividend payout ratio of 23.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect CSX to earn $2.04 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 23.5%.

CSX Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of CSX stock opened at $36.69 on Wednesday. CSX has a 12-month low of $31.65 and a 12-month high of $40.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The company has a 50 day moving average of $34.59 and a 200-day moving average of $33.97. The firm has a market cap of $70.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.73, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.19.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The transportation company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). CSX had a net margin of 24.77% and a return on equity of 28.92%. The firm had revenue of $3.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CSX will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CSX has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of CSX from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on CSX from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on CSX from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Stephens reduced their target price on CSX from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of CSX from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.78.

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.