CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) Shares Acquired by ClearBridge Investments Ltd

ClearBridge Investments Ltd lifted its stake in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,785,577 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 362,461 shares during the quarter. CSX accounts for 3.2% of ClearBridge Investments Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. ClearBridge Investments Ltd’s holdings in CSX were worth $122,161,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of CSX by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 82,250,713 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,840,117,000 after buying an additional 455,258 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in CSX by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,906,826 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,407,087,000 after acquiring an additional 190,346 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CSX by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,956,467 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $805,345,000 after purchasing an additional 299,536 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of CSX in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $780,194,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CSX shares. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of CSX from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on CSX from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Barclays cut their price target on CSX from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on CSX from $34.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $37.00 target price (down from $38.00) on shares of CSX in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.75.

CSX Stock Performance

Shares of CSX stock opened at $29.11 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The company has a market cap of $54.86 billion, a PE ratio of 16.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.20. CSX Co. has a 52 week low of $28.98 and a 52 week high of $37.10.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CSX Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. 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.