Sit Investment Associates Inc. Buys New Position in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Sit Investment Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 315,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,179,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hilltop Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in CSX during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $323,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CSX during the third quarter worth approximately $211,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of CSX by 65.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 146,328 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $5,053,000 after purchasing an additional 57,978 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in CSX in the 3rd quarter valued at $600,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in CSX by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 891,002 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,766,000 after purchasing an additional 16,166 shares in the last quarter. 73.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CSX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of CSX from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on CSX from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of CSX in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group decreased their price target on CSX from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $36.20.

CSX Trading Down 2.8 %

NASDAQ:CSX opened at $27.21 on Friday. CSX Co. has a 12 month low of $26.95 and a 12 month high of $37.10. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $31.32 and its 200 day moving average is $33.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.28 billion, a PE ratio of 15.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.22.

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

CSX Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. 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 (DPR) is currently 29.05%.

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.