CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.01 EPS

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The transportation company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.01, Briefing.com reports. CSX had a return on equity of 29.88% and a net margin of 24.75%. The business had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.48 EPS. CSX’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis.

CSX Stock Performance

Shares of CSX stock traded up $0.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $34.41. The company had a trading volume of 4,591,632 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,002,044. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.91. CSX has a one year low of $29.03 and a one year high of $40.12. The company has a market capitalization of $67.36 billion, a PE ratio of 18.90, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.18.

CSX Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. This is an increase from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.37%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CSX. Hilltop Holdings Inc. bought a new position in CSX in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $201,000. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its position in CSX by 19.7% in the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 6,587 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $197,000 after buying an additional 1,082 shares during the period. Arena Capital Advisors LLC CA bought a new position in CSX in the 1st quarter worth approximately $187,000. Point72 Europe London LLP bought a new position in CSX in the 4th quarter worth approximately $163,000. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in CSX in the 4th quarter worth approximately $153,000. 73.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on CSX from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com lowered CSX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Bank of America decreased their price objective on CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on CSX from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, CSX presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.72.

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.