Zacks Investment Management Acquires 61,686 Shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Zacks Investment Management boosted its holdings in shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,767,859 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 61,686 shares during the quarter. Zacks Investment Management’s holdings in CSX were worth $61,044,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its position in CSX by 149.1% during the second quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 17,208 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $575,000 after acquiring an additional 10,301 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in CSX by 20.8% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 467,399 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $16,139,000 after purchasing an additional 80,423 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in CSX by 0.7% during the third 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. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in CSX by 3.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,348,543 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $81,095,000 after purchasing an additional 77,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in CSX during the second quarter valued at approximately $867,000. Institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

CSX Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ CSX opened at $34.45 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $66.43 billion, a PE ratio of 18.52, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a fifty day moving average of $34.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.07. CSX Co. has a 52-week low of $31.74 and a 52-week high of $40.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.39.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The transportation company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). CSX had a net margin of 24.77% and a return on equity of 28.92%. The company had revenue of $3.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CSX Co. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is 25.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CSX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on CSX from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on CSX from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Stephens lowered their price target on CSX from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of CSX from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of CSX from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.78.

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.