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

CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 23,810,000 shares, a growth of 5.3% from the October 31st total of 22,610,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 11,660,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.

CSX Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of CSX stock opened at $35.97 on Wednesday. CSX has a twelve month low of $31.74 and a twelve month high of $40.12. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.20.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last released 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 firm had revenue of $3.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.68 billion. CSX had a return on equity of 28.92% and a net margin of 24.77%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CSX will post 1.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. CSX’s payout ratio is currently 25.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CSX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of CSX from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on CSX from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on CSX from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Susquehanna cut their target price on CSX from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their target price on CSX from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.78.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CSX

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Interval Partners LP lifted its holdings in CSX by 849.0% during the 2nd quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 5,118,751 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $171,222,000 after buying an additional 4,579,344 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of CSX during the second quarter worth about $116,430,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of CSX by 318.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,270,966 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $112,946,000 after acquiring an additional 2,489,329 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its holdings in CSX by 3,243.0% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 2,192,246 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $73,331,000 after acquiring an additional 2,126,668 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in CSX by 38.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,749,827 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $225,917,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884,998 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.