Bank of America Issues Positive Forecast for CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Stock Price

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) had its price target boosted by Bank of America from $46.00 to $49.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on CSX. Evercore downgraded shares of CSX from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $41.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of CSX from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of CSX in a report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup downgraded shares of CSX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $41.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Argus increased their target price on CSX from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CSX currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.26.

CSX Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CSX opened at $46.18 on Thursday. CSX has a 52 week low of $27.18 and a 52 week high of $46.55. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The company has a market cap of $85.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.50 billion. CSX had a return on equity of 24.86% and a net margin of 21.55%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CSX will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Diana B. Sorfleet sold 90,000 shares of CSX stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.56, for a total transaction of $3,740,400.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 165,613 shares in the company, valued at $6,882,876.28. This trade represents a 35.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen F. Angel purchased 25,000 shares of CSX stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $40.27 per share, with a total value of $1,006,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 146,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,901,165.80. The trade was a 20.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 188,123 shares of company stock worth $7,454,854. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CSX

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its position in shares of CSX by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 8,282,107 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $300,226,000 after purchasing an additional 98,977 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of CSX by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 3,450,199 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $122,516,000 after purchasing an additional 8,639 shares during the period. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC grew its stake in CSX by 81.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 944,946 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $33,555,000 after buying an additional 425,395 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in CSX by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 423,312 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $15,345,000 after buying an additional 18,025 shares during the period. Finally, Cohen Capital Management Inc. increased its position in CSX by 0.4% during the third quarter. Cohen Capital Management Inc. now owns 278,373 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,885,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting CSX

Here are the key news stories impacting CSX this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat on EPS and showed strong margin expansion and cash generation; management lifted the 2026 revenue outlook to mid‑single digits and flagged significant free‑cash‑flow upside — this underpins the rally. CSX Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Lag, 2026 View Raised
• Positive Sentiment: Operational improvements (efficiency initiatives, network expansion, record fuel efficiency) drove margin gains and lower operating expenses — a structural positive for future EPS and cash flow. CSX Q1 Deep Dive: Efficiency Initiatives and Network Expansion Drive Margin Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple brokerages raised price targets and ratings (Jefferies, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Raymond James, BofA, RBC, etc.), reflecting the quarter and improved guidance — analyst support helped lift investor demand. These Analysts Increase Their Forecasts On CSX After Q1 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large bullish options activity (heavy call buying) and notable insider buying (CEO purchased shares) suggest short‑term speculative and management conviction support. Quiver Quant: CSX jumps as Q1 profit beats expectations and outlook improves
• Neutral Sentiment: The top‑line was roughly flat — revenue modestly missed estimates while volumes rose slightly; investors will watch whether revenue growth keeps pace with margin gains. CSX Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Lag, 2026 View Raised (Zacks)
• Neutral Sentiment: The stock traded near a 52‑week high after results — positive momentum but raises the bar for future beats. CSX rallies to a new 52-week high after showing operational improvement in Q1
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley downgraded CSX, saying the turnaround progress is largely priced in and valuation looks stretched (they set a much lower target) — this creates near‑term downside risk if future results disappoint. CSX Turnaround Largely Reflected in Stock Valuation, Morgan Stanley Says in Downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentators caution about price risk after the run‑up — elevated multiples mean the stock could be sensitive to any slowdown in volumes, pricing or margin recovery. CSX: Stellar Financial Report, But Price Risk Still Remains

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.