Ethic Inc. Raises Stock Position in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 112,163 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,224 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in CSX were worth $3,620,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CSX by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 13,036 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of CSX by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 31,827 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,027,000 after buying an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC boosted its stake in CSX by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 10,317 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in CSX by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 8,292 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Point Inc. increased its stake in CSX by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 13,722 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

CSX Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of CSX opened at $28.74 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.06, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.22. 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 $26.22 and a 1-year high of $37.10. The company has a 50-day moving average of $28.78 and a 200 day moving average of $31.85.

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

CSX Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. CSX’s payout ratio is 31.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CSX shares. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on CSX from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of CSX from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of CSX from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 target price (down from $34.00) on shares of CSX in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on CSX from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CSX has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.86.

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.