Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Grows Position in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its position in shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,551 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in CSX were worth $1,373,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CSX. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in CSX by 40.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 23,350,087 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $753,507,000 after buying an additional 6,730,316 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd purchased a new stake in CSX in the 4th quarter valued at about $83,301,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in CSX by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,612,862 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $539,112,000 after buying an additional 1,447,651 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its position in CSX by 616.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,114,542 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,966,000 after buying an additional 958,957 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in CSX by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,656,931 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $851,404,000 after buying an additional 857,302 shares during the period. 73.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $38.00 price target on shares of CSX in a report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $37.00 price target (down previously from $38.00) on shares of CSX in a report on Friday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of CSX from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $37.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.16.

CSX Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of CSX stock opened at $31.20 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. CSX Co. has a 12-month low of $31.17 and a 12-month high of $38.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.68.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.02). CSX had a net margin of 23.95% and a return on equity of 28.15%. Analysts predict that CSX Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This is an increase from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is 29.05%.

CSX Profile

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.