Baird Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stock Position in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Baird Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 386,897 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 5,572 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in CSX were worth $12,485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in CSX during the 4th quarter worth approximately $780,194,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in CSX by 89.7% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 20,856,567 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $673,025,000 after acquiring an additional 9,863,587 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in CSX by 40.5% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 6,730,316 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its holdings in CSX by 471.9% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 6,748,661 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $217,808,000 after purchasing an additional 5,568,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Management Inc. WI bought a new stake in shares of CSX during the 4th quarter valued at about $178,259,000. 73.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CSX shares. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of CSX from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America decreased their price target on CSX from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of CSX in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $34.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on CSX from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on CSX from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.86.

CSX Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CSX opened at $28.37 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $28.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.93. The firm has a market cap of $53.28 billion, a PE ratio of 15.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.22. CSX Co. has a fifty-two week low of $26.22 and a fifty-two week high of $37.10.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The transportation company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.05). CSX had a return on equity of 28.15% and a net margin of 23.95%. The business had revenue of $3.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that CSX Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.14%.

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.