CSX Co. (CSX) To Go Ex-Dividend on February 28th

CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 12th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of 0.13 per share by the transportation company on Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12.

CSX has increased its dividend payment by an average of 8.7% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 21 years. CSX has a payout ratio of 24.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect CSX to earn $2.09 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 24.9%.

CSX Price Performance

Shares of CSX stock opened at $32.09 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.93, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $32.59 and its 200-day moving average is $33.74. CSX has a 1 year low of $31.43 and a 1 year high of $38.70.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.02). CSX had a net margin of 23.95% and a return on equity of 28.15%. Sell-side analysts forecast that CSX will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on CSX from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of 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 reduced 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 reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of CSX in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on CSX from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.16.

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.