CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Upgraded to “Buy” at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $37.00 price objective on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of CSX from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of CSX from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen reduced 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on CSX from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on CSX from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.67.

CSX Stock Performance

CSX stock opened at $31.78 on Friday. CSX has a fifty-two week low of $31.43 and a fifty-two week high of $40.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market cap of $61.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $34.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.98.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The transportation company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that CSX will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CSX

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSX. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CSX by 177.8% in the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 750 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of CSX during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CSX during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of CSX in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CSX by 348.5% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 812 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.