Raymond James Has Lowered Expectations for CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Stock Price

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) had its price objective decreased by Raymond James from $37.00 to $34.00 in a report issued on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Raymond James currently has an outperform rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of CSX from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Loop Capital lowered CSX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $40.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on CSX from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of CSX in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $34.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of CSX from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.70.

CSX Price Performance

CSX opened at $28.01 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $30.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.72. CSX has a 12-month low of $26.22 and a 12-month high of $37.10. The firm has a market cap of $52.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.65, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.02). CSX had a return on equity of 28.15% and a net margin of 23.95%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This is an increase from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. CSX’s payout ratio is presently 29.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CSX

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in CSX by 180.7% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 72,197 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,330,000 after purchasing an additional 46,473 shares during the period. Marshall Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CSX in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,084,000. Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its stake in shares of CSX by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 612,051 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $19,751,000 after buying an additional 8,474 shares during the period. Waycross Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of CSX by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Waycross Partners LLC now owns 619,471 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $19,990,000 after buying an additional 40,611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in CSX by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,061,143 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,243,000 after acquiring an additional 20,073 shares during the period. 73.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.