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

CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 28,870,000 shares, an increase of 21.3% from the November 15th total of 23,810,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 11,800,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on CSX. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on CSX from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on CSX from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of CSX from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of CSX from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.78.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CSX

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brass Tax Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of CSX by 3.5% in the third quarter. Brass Tax Wealth Management Inc. now owns 13,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $449,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the period. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in CSX by 6,689.2% in the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,512 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 2,475 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings 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 period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in CSX by 9.2% in the 3rd 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. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

CSX Price Performance

Shares of CSX opened at $33.24 on Monday. CSX has a twelve month low of $31.74 and a twelve month high of $40.12. The company has a market capitalization of $64.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $34.77 and a 200 day moving average of $34.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last posted 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). The business had revenue of $3.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.68 billion. CSX had a return on equity of 28.92% and a net margin of 24.77%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CSX will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.81%.

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.