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

CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 28,870,000 shares, a growth of 21.3% from the November 15th total of 23,810,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 11,800,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in CSX during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lifted its stake 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. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in CSX in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in CSX during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in CSX during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CSX shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of CSX from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on CSX from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on CSX from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of CSX from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. 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 given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.78.

CSX Price Performance

Shares of CSX stock traded down $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $33.24. 10,139,346 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,642,540. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $34.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.08. The stock has a market cap of $64.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.87, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.20. CSX has a 12 month low of $31.74 and a 12 month 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.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last announced 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 company had revenue of $3.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.68 billion. CSX had a return on equity of 28.92% and a net margin of 24.77%. The firm’s quarterly revenue 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, sell-side analysts forecast that CSX will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

CSX Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. CSX’s payout ratio is 25.81%.

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.