Great Lakes Advisors LLC Takes Position in CSX Corporation $CSX

Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 3,616,830 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $171,908,000. CSX makes up 1.3% of Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in CSX in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in CSX during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of CSX by 58.0% in the 2nd quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 681 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of CSX by 97.4% in the first quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 829 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CSX during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CSX shares. Evercore set a $51.00 target price on shares of CSX in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on CSX from $45.50 to $47.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Susquehanna upgraded CSX from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $50.00 to $58.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on CSX from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Citizens Jmp began coverage on shares of CSX in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.31.

CSX Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CSX opened at $50.24 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.82. CSX Corporation has a 52 week low of $31.80 and a 52 week high of $53.60. The firm has a market cap of $93.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.21.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. CSX had a return on equity of 24.98% and a net margin of 22.21%.The firm had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.44 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CSX Corporation will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.37%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John J. Zillmer sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.45, for a total transaction of $464,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 353,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,430,015.30. The trade was a 2.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevin S. Boone sold 136,708 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.70, for a total value of $6,384,263.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 208,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,742,647.40. The trade was a 39.59% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 189,708 shares of company stock valued at $9,132,304. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CSX Company Profile

CSX Corporation is a leading North American transportation company that provides rail-based freight services and supply-chain solutions. Its operating subsidiary, CSX Transportation, moves a wide range of goods for customers across multiple industries, using a combination of long-haul rail service, intermodal operations and terminal and yard services. The company focuses on delivering efficient, reliable freight transportation between major production centers, consumption markets and port gateways.

CSX’s freight portfolio includes intermodal containers and trailers, bulk commodities, industrial products and specialized unit trains.