Earnest Partners LLC Has $68.69 Million Stock Position in CSX Corporation $CSX

Earnest Partners LLC decreased its stake in shares of CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,333,983 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 71,518 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC owned about 0.12% of CSX worth $68,689,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of CSX by 21.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 28,383,830 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $835,336,000 after purchasing an additional 5,033,743 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of CSX by 12.5% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 23,456,085 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $690,359,000 after purchasing an additional 2,599,518 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of CSX by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 22,067,356 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $649,442,000 after purchasing an additional 969,567 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of CSX by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 21,124,807 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $681,696,000 after purchasing an additional 707,934 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of CSX by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 18,742,431 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $551,540,000 after purchasing an additional 1,856,322 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

CSX Price Performance

CSX stock opened at $32.54 on Thursday. CSX Corporation has a 12 month low of $26.22 and a 12 month high of $37.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $34.35 and its 200-day moving average is $31.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The company has a market capitalization of $60.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.25.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.02. CSX had a return on equity of 25.48% and a net margin of 21.92%.The company had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that CSX Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

CSX Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on CSX from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on CSX from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. TD Cowen raised CSX from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised CSX from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

About CSX

CSX Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides rail-based freight transportation services. The company offers rail services; and transportation of intermodal containers and trailers, as well as other transportation services, such as rail-to-truck transfers and bulk commodity operations. It also transports chemicals, agricultural and food products, minerals, automotive, forest products, fertilizers, and metals and equipment; and coal, coke, and iron ore to electricity-generating power plants, steel manufacturers, and industrial plants, as well as exports coal to deep-water port facilities.