Wells Fargo & Company Lowers CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Price Target to $31.00

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) had its target price lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $34.00 to $31.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the transportation company’s stock.

CSX has been the topic of several other reports. 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. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of CSX from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of CSX in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $37.00 price target (down previously from $38.00) on shares of CSX in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of CSX from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Seven equities 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.75.

CSX Price Performance

CSX opened at $29.92 on Thursday. CSX has a 52-week low of $28.98 and a 52-week high of $37.18. The company has a 50 day moving average of $31.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.23. The company has a market cap of $56.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

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

CSX Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This is a positive change from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CSX

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of CSX by 180.7% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 72,197 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,330,000 after buying an additional 46,473 shares during the period. Marshall Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of CSX during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,084,000. Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its position in shares of CSX by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 612,051 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $19,751,000 after purchasing an additional 8,474 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of CSX by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 653,025 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $22,549,000 after purchasing an additional 41,547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waycross Partners LLC boosted its position in CSX by 7.0% during the 4th 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.

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.