CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) Position Increased by Advisors Capital Management LLC

Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its stake in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 18.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,248 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 1,608 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC’s holdings in CSX were worth $331,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of CSX by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 41,633,333 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,339,555,000 after purchasing an additional 726,507 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in CSX by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 25,103,077 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $810,076,000 after purchasing an additional 2,977,212 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in CSX by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,956,467 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $805,345,000 after buying an additional 299,536 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CSX during the fourth quarter valued at about $780,194,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted 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 worth $753,507,000 after buying an additional 6,730,316 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

CSX Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CSX opened at $27.90 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.63. The stock has a market cap of $52.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.59, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.23. CSX Co. has a 1-year low of $26.22 and a 1-year 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.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last announced its 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 return on equity of 28.15% and a net margin of 23.95%. Research analysts anticipate that CSX Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is an increase from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. CSX’s payout ratio is currently 29.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CSX shares. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of CSX from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Loop Capital cut CSX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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, March 27th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on CSX from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on CSX from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.55.

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.