The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Invests $78.88 Million in CSX Corporation $CSX

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,659,658 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,884,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.09% of CSX at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in CSX in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in CSX in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in CSX in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its position in CSX by 58.0% in the second quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 681 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC raised its position in CSX by 97.4% in the first quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 829 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Michael S. Burns sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.68, for a total value of $684,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 59,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,141,993.24. This trade represents a 17.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Angela C. Williams sold 30,000 shares of CSX stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.29, for a total value of $1,598,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,187.73. This represents a 74.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 189,708 shares of company stock worth $9,132,304 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on CSX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a report on Friday, July 24th. Stephens began coverage on CSX in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $57.00 target price for the company. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $60.00 price target (up from $55.00) on shares of CSX in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Citigroup upped their price target on CSX from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded CSX from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.31.

CSX Stock Performance

NASDAQ CSX opened at $51.51 on Wednesday. CSX Corporation has a 1-year low of $31.80 and a 1-year high of $53.60. The company has a 50 day moving average of $49.55 and a 200-day moving average of $45.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market cap of $95.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.77, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.21.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.89 billion. CSX had a return on equity of 24.98% and a net margin of 22.21%.CSX’s revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.44 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that CSX Corporation will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. CSX’s payout ratio is currently 32.37%.

CSX Company Profile

CSX Corporation is a leading North American transportation company that provides rail-based freight services and supply-chain solutions. Its operating subsidiary, CSX Transportation, moves a wide range of goods for customers across multiple industries, using a combination of long-haul rail service, intermodal operations and terminal and yard services. The company focuses on delivering efficient, reliable freight transportation between major production centers, consumption markets and port gateways.

CSX’s freight portfolio includes intermodal containers and trailers, bulk commodities, industrial products and specialized unit trains.