CSX Corporation $CSX Stock: Sterling Capital Management LLC Cuts Position

Sterling Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) by 28.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 27,843 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 11,028 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in CSX were worth $1,295,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CSX during the 2nd quarter valued at $7,655,277,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of CSX during the 2nd quarter worth $1,598,962,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of CSX in the 2nd quarter worth about $950,325,000. XXEC Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CSX in the 2nd quarter worth about $765,595,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in CSX during the second quarter valued at about $747,001,000. 73.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CSX shares. Stephens started coverage on shares of CSX in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $60.00 target price (up from $55.00) on shares of CSX in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of CSX in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Argus set a $56.00 price target on shares of CSX in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on shares of CSX in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.02.

CSX Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of CSX opened at $51.31 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $48.72 and a 200 day moving average of $45.10. CSX Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $33.63 and a fifty-two week high of $53.60. The firm has a market cap of $94.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.84.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The transportation company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.96 billion. CSX had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 25.94%. The company’s revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that CSX Corporation will post 2.01 EPS for the current year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 30th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 30th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.02%.

About CSX

CSX Corporation is a transportation company whose primary business is freight railroading through its CSX Transportation subsidiary. The company operates an extensive rail network across the eastern United States, serving major industrial centers, population hubs, ports and distribution markets.

CSX transports a broad range of products, including chemicals, agricultural and food products, forest products, minerals, metals, automotive goods and other manufactured merchandise. Its services also include intermodal transportation, which combines rail service with trucks and containers, as well as the movement of coal and other bulk commodities.

The company traces its roots to the formation of CSX Corporation in 1980 through the merger of Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries.