Jefferies Financial Group Cuts CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Price Target to $33.00

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) had its target price reduced by Jefferies Financial Group from $37.00 to $33.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on CSX. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on CSX from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of CSX from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective (down from $38.00) on shares of CSX in a research note on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on CSX in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CSX presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.70.

CSX Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CSX opened at $28.01 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $52.79 billion, a PE ratio of 15.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 0.86. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $30.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.72. CSX has a fifty-two week low of $26.22 and a fifty-two week high of $37.10.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.02). CSX had a net margin of 23.95% and a return on equity of 28.15%. Equities research analysts predict that CSX will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. This is an increase from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.05%.

Institutional Trading of CSX

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diversified Trust Co increased its stake in shares of CSX by 180.7% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 72,197 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,330,000 after acquiring an additional 46,473 shares during the period. Marshall Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in CSX during the 4th quarter worth about $1,084,000. Carnegie Investment Counsel lifted its holdings in CSX by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 612,051 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $19,751,000 after acquiring an additional 8,474 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in CSX by 6.8% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 653,025 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $22,549,000 after buying an additional 41,547 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waycross Partners LLC grew its holdings in CSX by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Waycross Partners LLC now owns 619,471 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $19,990,000 after purchasing an additional 40,611 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

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.