Upcoming AWS Coverage on Union Pacific Post-Earnings Results

LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / April 25, 2017 / Active Wall St. announces its post-earnings coverage on CSX Corp. (NASDAQ: CSX). The Company released its first quarter fiscal 2017 results on April 19, 2017. The railroad Company surpassed top- and bottom-line expectations and also announced a 11% increase in dividend and a new $1 billion buy-back program. Register with us now for your free membership at:

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One of CSX Corp's competitors within the Railroads space, Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP), announced on March 30, 2017, that its Q1 2017 earnings release presentation will be broadcast live over the Internet and via teleconference on Thursday, April 27, 2017, at 8:45 a.m. ET. AWS will be initiating a research report on Union Pacific in the coming days.

Today, AWS is promoting its earnings coverage on CSX; touching on UNP. Get our free coverage by signing up to:

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Earnings Reviewed

For the three months ended March 31, 2017, CSX's revenue increased 10% to $2.87 billion, reflecting volume growth across most markets, overall core pricing gains, increased fuel recovery, and favorable mix. The Company's revenue numbers surpassed analysts' consensus of $2.76 billion.

For Q1 2017, CSX's total costs were up $243 million on a y-o-y basis with $173 million restructuring charge accounting for most of that year-over-year increase. Absent the charge, the combined impact of increased fuel prices, inflation, and volume were nearly offset by the $123 million of efficiency savings. CSX noted that the focus on cost control in a rising volume environment produced incremental margins of over 70% excluding the charge. Excluding charge, CSX delivered a record first quarter operating ratio of 69.2% and operating income of $885 million. During Q1 2017, CSX's gross ton-miles climbed 5% to 100.3 billion, while train accident rate dropped 25% to 2.37 per million train miles. The Company's personal injuries increased slightly to 0.99 per 200,000 worker-hours, and on-time arrivals fell three percentage points to 61% for the reported quarter.

CSX announced Q1 2017 net earnings of $362 million, or $0.39 per share, up from $356 million, or $0.37 per share, in Q1 2016. Excluding the $173 million restructuring charge, adjusted earnings per share was $0.51, outperforming Wall Street's estimates of $0.43 per share.

CSX stated that the financial results drove over $1 billion in operating cash flow, a nearly $300 million y-o-y improvement. This improvement carried through to free cash flow before dividends of $630 million.

Dividend Hike and Share Repurchase

In a separate press release on April 20, 2017, CSX announced an 11% increase in its quarterly dividend, a new $1 billion share repurchase program, and strong financial guidance as it applies the Precision Scheduled Railroading model to its operations. CSX's Board of Directors approved an increase in the quarterly dividend from $0.18 to $0.20. The new $0.20 quarterly dividend is payable on June 15, 2017 to shareholders of record at the close of business on May 31, 2017.

Furthermore, the Company's Board also approved a new $1 billion share repurchase program, which management expects to complete by the end of Q1 2018. This follows the successful completion of CSX's previous repurchase plan, during which the Company repurchased $2 billion worth of shares since April 2015.

CSX announced that it now expects to invest $2.1 billion in FY17, including approximately $270 million for Positive Train Control. The Company stated that out of the 2017 investment, more than half will be used to sustain core infrastructure with the remainder allocated to projects supporting profitable growth, efficiency initiatives and service improvements.

Stock Performance

On Monday, April 24, 2017, the stock closed the trading session at $50.13, falling 1.26% from its previous closing price of $50.77. A total volume of 11.20 million shares have exchanged hands, which was higher than the 3-month average volume of 10.02 million shares. CSX Corp.'s stock price surged 9.83% in the last three months, 67.33% in the past six months, and 86.90% in the previous twelve months. Moreover, the stock gained 40.58% since the start of the year. At Monday's closing price, the stock's net capitalization stands at $46.57 billion. The Company's shares are trading at P/E of 27.68 and have a dividend yield of 1.44%.

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SOURCE: Active Wall Street