First National Advisers LLC Grows Holdings in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

First National Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 144,646 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 6,375 shares during the quarter. First National Advisers LLC’s holdings in CSX were worth $4,668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CSX. Diversified Trust Co grew its position in CSX by 180.7% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 72,197 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,330,000 after purchasing an additional 46,473 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in CSX during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,084,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in CSX by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 3,374,499 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $116,521,000 after purchasing an additional 24,430 shares during the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel grew its position in CSX by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 612,051 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $19,751,000 after purchasing an additional 8,474 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in CSX by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 653,025 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $22,549,000 after acquiring an additional 41,547 shares during the period. 73.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CSX Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of CSX opened at $30.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 1.23. CSX Co. has a 1 year low of $28.98 and a 1 year high of $38.03. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.49. The firm has a market cap of $56.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.25.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last announced 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that CSX Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This is a positive change from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on CSX. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $37.00 target price (down previously from $38.00) on shares of CSX in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Loop Capital cut shares of CSX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $40.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.00.

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.