LPL Financial LLC Purchases 124,615 Shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,712,112 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 124,615 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in CSX were worth $55,250,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of CSX by 40.5% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 6,730,316 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in CSX in the 4th quarter valued at about $85,959,000. Perpetual Ltd acquired a new stake in CSX during the fourth quarter worth approximately $83,301,000. River Road Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CSX during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,861,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in shares of CSX by 10.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,612,862 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $539,112,000 after purchasing an additional 1,447,651 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on CSX shares. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $38.00 price target on shares of CSX in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on CSX in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of CSX from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CSX currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.75.

CSX Price Performance

CSX stock opened at $29.92 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $31.82 and a 200-day moving average of $33.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 0.86. CSX Co. has a 52 week low of $28.98 and a 52 week high of $37.18.

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

CSX Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. CSX’s payout ratio is presently 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.