CSX Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:CSX)

CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders bought 22,656 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 185% compared to the average daily volume of 7,960 call options.

CSX Stock Performance

NASDAQ CSX traded up $3.00 on Thursday, hitting $46.18. 12,878,720 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,527,650. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. CSX has a 1-year low of $27.18 and a 1-year high of $46.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $41.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.93 billion, a PE ratio of 29.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.25.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.04. CSX had a net margin of 20.50% and a return on equity of 23.88%. The business had revenue of $3.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.34 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that CSX will post 1.84 EPS for the current year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This is a positive change from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. CSX’s payout ratio is presently 36.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Stephen Fortune sold 31,456 shares of CSX stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.65, for a total value of $1,215,774.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 82,034 shares in the company, valued at $3,170,614.10. This trade represents a 27.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Diana B. Sorfleet sold 90,000 shares of CSX stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.56, for a total transaction of $3,740,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 165,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,882,876.28. This trade represents a 35.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 188,123 shares of company stock worth $7,454,854 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CSX

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of CSX during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $314,000. First United Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of CSX by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. First United Bank & Trust now owns 51,719 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,123,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares in the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY increased its holdings in shares of CSX by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 238,817 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,803,000 after purchasing an additional 15,310 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its holdings in shares of CSX by 14.7% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 88,778 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,644,000 after purchasing an additional 11,357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Union Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of CSX during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $138,000. 73.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about CSX

Here are the key news stories impacting CSX this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 earnings beat and margin improvement — CSX reported Q1 net income of $807M, $0.43 diluted EPS (above consensus) with operating income of $1.25B; management cited higher volumes, lower operating costs and a real-estate gain that boosted results. GlobeNewswire — Q1 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised 2026 revenue-growth guidance to mid-single digits — the firmer outlook signals improving demand/pricing, which helped lift sentiment after the print. Seeking Alpha — Guidance Move
• Positive Sentiment: Large cluster of analyst price-target raises and buy/overweight reiterations — notable raises include Jefferies to $52, Wells Fargo to $50, JPMorgan to $48 and multiple other firms increasing targets, reinforcing buy-side momentum. Benzinga — Analyst Reactions
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue slightly missed expectations — Q1 revenue was $3.48B (up 1.7% y/y) and a touch below some estimates, tempering the beat on EPS. Investors are weighing profit quality (cost cuts) vs. topline softness. Yahoo Finance — Q1 Overview
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed insider and institutional flows — CEO purchased shares (small amount) while other insiders sold; institutional position changes noted in filings — useful context but not an immediate directional catalyst. Quiver Quantitative — Insider & Institutional Activity
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts remain cautious or set lower targets — a few firms (Evercore, BMO, TD Cowen in recent notes) left targets at or below the current price, highlighting price risk if top-line momentum fades. MarketScreener — Analyst Notes

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CSX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. New Street Research set a $49.00 target price on shares of CSX in a research note on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of CSX from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of CSX from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of CSX from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.10.

About CSX

CSX Corporation is a leading North American transportation company that provides rail-based freight services and supply-chain solutions. Its operating subsidiary, CSX Transportation, moves a wide range of goods for customers across multiple industries, using a combination of long-haul rail service, intermodal operations and terminal and yard services. The company focuses on delivering efficient, reliable freight transportation between major production centers, consumption markets and port gateways.

CSX’s freight portfolio includes intermodal containers and trailers, bulk commodities, industrial products and specialized unit trains.