CSX Corp Stock Buy Recommendation Reiterated (CSX)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- CSX (NYSE:CSX) has been reiterated by TheStreet Ratings as a buy with a ratings score of B. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, notable return on equity, attractive valuation levels, impressive record of earnings per share growth and expanding profit margins. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had generally poor debt management on most measures that we evaluated.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• CSX CORP has improved earnings per share by 21.7% in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. The company has demonstrated a pattern of positive earnings per share growth over the past two years. We feel that this trend should continue. During the past fiscal year, CSX CORP increased its bottom line by earning $1.67 versus $1.36 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($1.83 versus $1.67).
• Despite its growing revenue, the company underperformed as compared with the industry average of 12.3%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 5.5%. This growth in revenue appears to have trickled down to the company's bottom line, improving the earnings per share.
• The return on equity has improved slightly when compared to the same quarter one year prior. This can be construed as a modest strength in the organization. Compared to other companies in the Road & Rail industry and the overall market, CSX CORP's return on equity exceeds that of both the industry average and the S&P 500.
• 37.50% is the gross profit margin for CSX CORP which we consider to be strong. It has increased from the same quarter the previous year. Regardless of the strong results of the gross profit margin, the net profit margin of 15.10% trails the industry average.

CSX Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides rail-based transportation services. It offers traditional rail service and the transport of intermodal containers and trailers. The company has a P/E ratio of 12.7, equal to the average transportation industry P/E ratioand below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. CSX has a market cap of $23.09 billion and is part of the services sector and transportation industry. Shares are up 5.5% year to date as of the close of trading on Tuesday.

You can view the full CSX Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

--Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff.

TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

For more information on CSX Corp click any of the following:

• CSX Corp Stock Price

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• CSX Corp Key Stats & Profile

• CSX Corp Earnings

• CSX Corp Ratio Comparison

• CSX Corp Growth Rates

• CSX Corp Balance Sheet

• CSX Corp Cash Flow

• CSX Corp Income Statement