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

CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 24,050,000 shares, an increase of 19.6% from the September 15th total of 20,110,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 10,740,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CSX shares. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of CSX in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Bank of America downgraded CSX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of CSX from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of CSX in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CSX presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.19.

CSX Price Performance

Shares of CSX traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $35.69. 3,085,326 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,425,494. The stock has a market cap of $69.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.51, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $34.01 and a 200-day moving average of $33.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.16. CSX has a 52 week low of $29.03 and a 52 week high of $40.12.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The transportation company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. CSX had a return on equity of 29.11% and a net margin of 24.52%. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that CSX will post 1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CSX

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Western Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CSX by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 36,127 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,208,000 after buying an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CSX by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,524 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $385,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its position in CSX by 0.3% in the first quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 103,563 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,839,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Team Hewins LLC grew its position in CSX by 1.7% in the first quarter. Team Hewins LLC now owns 18,778 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $696,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in CSX by 33.7% during the third quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,253 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.