Raymond James & Associates Increases Stake in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,682,049 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 97,505 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned about 0.09% of CSX worth $58,317,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Value Partners Investments Inc. acquired a new position in CSX in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,172,000. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of CSX by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,340,514 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $748,471,000 after purchasing an additional 739,411 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of CSX by 142.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,278,601 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $100,147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928,891 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of CSX by 414.8% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 51,534 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,585,000 after purchasing an additional 41,524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CSX by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,169,113 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,950,000 after purchasing an additional 236,666 shares in the last quarter. 73.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CSX Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of CSX stock opened at $36.84 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $36.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market cap of $72.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.02, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.18. CSX Co. has a twelve month low of $28.73 and a twelve month high of $40.12.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.63 billion. CSX had a net margin of 25.35% and a return on equity of 30.52%. CSX’s revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that CSX Co. will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This is a positive change from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is 26.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CSX has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of CSX from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of CSX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of CSX in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of CSX from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of CSX from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CSX has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.24.

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.