CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 23,810,000 shares, a growth of 5.3% from the October 31st total of 22,610,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 11,660,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on CSX. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on CSX from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of CSX from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of CSX from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of CSX from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CSX currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.78.

Institutional Trading of CSX

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in CSX by 6,689.2% in the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,512 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 2,475 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in CSX by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,350,289 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $47,652,000 after buying an additional 113,530 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in CSX by 9.2% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 194,760 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,725,000 after buying an additional 16,456 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in CSX by 260.8% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 24,970 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $862,000 after acquiring an additional 18,049 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of CSX by 137.4% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,145 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $557,000 after acquiring an additional 9,344 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

CSX Stock Performance

NASDAQ CSX traded down $0.32 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $36.02. 4,609,889 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,611,224. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.54, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. CSX has a 12-month low of $31.74 and a 12-month high of $40.12. The business has a 50 day moving average of $34.70 and a 200-day moving average of $34.03.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The transportation company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). CSX had a net margin of 24.77% and a return on equity of 28.92%. The company had revenue of $3.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. CSX’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CSX will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.81%.

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.