Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Stock

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) had its target price increased by investment analysts at Citigroup from $42.00 to $44.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Citigroup’s price target suggests a potential upside of 20.61% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on CSX. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on CSX from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on CSX from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Stephens lowered their price target on CSX from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of CSX from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.78.

CSX Stock Performance

NASDAQ CSX opened at $36.48 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $70.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.19. CSX has a fifty-two week low of $30.86 and a fifty-two week high of $40.12. The business has a fifty day moving average of $34.22 and a 200-day moving average of $33.85.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The transportation company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.68 billion. CSX had a net margin of 24.77% and a return on equity of 28.92%. CSX’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that CSX will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CSX

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSX. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in CSX by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 221,010 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,631,000 after buying an additional 16,772 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CSX in the third quarter worth $66,000. Partners Group Holding AG raised its stake in CSX by 67.5% during the 3rd quarter. Partners Group Holding AG now owns 1,218,143 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $42,062,000 after purchasing an additional 490,945 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in shares of CSX by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 354,895 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $12,255,000 after purchasing an additional 20,522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of CSX by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,612,862 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $539,112,000 after buying an additional 1,447,651 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

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.