Should Investors Retain CSX Stock Despite Its Higher Valuation?

CSX Corporation (CSX) looks expensive from a valuation standpoint. Considering the forward 12-month price-to-sales ratio (P/E-F12M), CSX is trading at a premium compared to the industry.

The stock has a forward 12-month P/E-F12M of 21.57X compared with 19.50X for the industry over the past five years. The company’s forward 12-month P/E-F12M ratio is also above the median level of 17.35X over the past five years. These factors indicate that the stock’s valuation is unattractive. CSX has a Value Score of D.

CSX P/E Ratio (Forward 12 Months) Vs. Industry

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Now, the question is whether it is worth buying, holding, or selling the CSX stock at current prices. Let us delve deeper to find out.

Headwinds Weighing on CSX Stock

Rail network issues due to headwinds like locomotive or crew/labor shortages and other service disruptions represent a major challenge for CSX. Network issues or supply chain constraints are likely to adversely impact service levels, in turn hurting operating efficiency or volume of shipments. With labor costs being high, operating expenses are elevated, in turn hurting the bottom line.

CSX’s balance sheet scenario looks disappointing. The company ended fourth-quarter 2025 with cash and cash equivalents of $675 million, lower than the current debt level of $708 million. This implies that the company does not have sufficient cash to meet its current debt obligations. Further, CSX’s long-term debt has increased to $18.1 billion at the end of fourth-quarter 2025 from $17.8 billion at the end of fourth-quarter 2024.

Coal market weakness is a major headwind for CSX. The weak coal market has resulted in below-par coal revenues. Coal revenues fell 15% year over year to $1.9 billion in 2025. Coal volumes decreased 2% year over year in 2025.

Stock prices of railroad companies are notoriously volatile. As such, shares of CSX may not be suitable for investors who are not comfortable with the often substantial day-to-day volatility.

What Do Earnings Estimates Say for CSX?

The negative sentiment surrounding CSX stock is evident from the fact that the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the first quarter of 2026 and the second quarter of 2026 earnings has been revised downward in the past 90 days. The consensus mark for 2026 and 2027 earnings has also been projected southward in the past 90 days.

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The unfavorable estimate revisions indicate brokers’ lack of confidence in the stock.

Factors Working in Favor of CSX Stock

CSX's focus on improving workplace safety for employees is also commendable. As a reflection of this, the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Personal Injury Frequency Index, a measure of the number of FRA-reportable injuries per 200,000 man-hours, improved to 0.94 in 2025 from 1.23 in 2024. The FRA train accident rate improved to 3.08 in 2025 from 3.56 in 2024.

Meanwhile, CSX has been consistently making efforts to strengthen its relations with its employees. To this end, the railroad company has entered into multi-year collective bargaining agreements with the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS) and the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Forgers & Helpers (IBB); the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) in 2025, for the well-being of its employees. CSX is currently engaged in bargaining with SMART-TD to consolidate separate territories, workforces and execute a single-system collective agreement. Such deals reflect the employee-friendly attitude of CSX, through which it strives to maintain cordial relations with its employees and the unions representing them, thereby providing a healthy work environment at CSX.

Additionally, CSX has been consistently making efforts to reward its shareholders through dividends and share buybacks, which are encouraging. Continuing the shareholder-friendly approach, CSX rewarded its shareholders in 2022 through a combination of cash dividends ($852 million) and share repurchases ($4.73 billion). During 2023, CSX repurchased shares worth $3.48 billion and paid $882 million in cash dividends. During 2024, CSX repurchased shares worth $2.23 billion and paid $930 million in cash dividends. During 2025, CSX repurchased shares worth $1.39 billion and paid $972 million in the form of dividend payments. Such shareholder-friendly initiatives should boost investor confidence and positively impact the bottom line.

CSX Stock’s Price Performance

Shares of CSX stock have gained 38% in the past year, outperforming the Zacks Transportation - Rail industry’s 9.2% surge, as well as that of other industry players, Norfolk Southern Corporation NSC and Canadian National Railway Company (CNI), within the same time frame.

CSX Stock’s One-Year Price Comparison

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Time to Retain CSX Stock

It is understood that CSX stock is unattractively valued currently. Moreover, CSX continues to face headwinds such as a high debt load and a soft coal market. The weak coal market has resulted in below-par coal revenues. Supply-chain disturbances and network-related issues represent major challenges for CSX. Share price volatility and unattractive valuation act as other concerns.

Despite the headwinds, we advise investors not to sell CSX stock now due to the positive developments, like the company's focus on improving workplace safety for employees, which is commendable. Meanwhile, CSX has been consistently making efforts to strengthen its relations with its employees through the multi-year collective bargaining agreements with the unions (representing the employees). CSX's consistent efforts to continue rewarding its shareholders by paying dividends and buying back shares look appreciative.

We advise investors to wait for a better entry point. For those who already own the stock, it will be prudent to stay invested. The company’s current Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) justifies our analysis. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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CSX Corporation (CSX): Free Stock Analysis Report

Canadian National Railway Company (CNI): Free Stock Analysis Report

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NSC): Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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