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

by · The Cerbat Gem

CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 27,660,000 shares, an increase of 15.0% from the September 30th total of 24,050,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 11,280,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on CSX. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of CSX in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America cut shares of CSX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of CSX from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of CSX from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of CSX in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $42.00 target price on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.61.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on CSX

CSX Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of CSX traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $33.43. The company had a trading volume of 6,079,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,605,873. The stock has a market cap of $65.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.83. CSX has a fifty-two week low of $29.26 and a fifty-two week high of $40.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX – Get Free Report) last posted its 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). CSX had a net margin of 24.52% and a return on equity of 29.11%. The business had revenue of $3.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CSX will post 1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors 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 yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CSX

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of CSX during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CSX in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of CSX in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of CSX in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CSX by 72.4% in the 2nd quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 1,048 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

About CSX

(Get Free Report)

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.

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