National Pension Service Buys 69,028 Shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

National Pension Service grew its stake in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,832,346 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 69,028 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.25% of CSX worth $155,940,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CSX. Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in CSX by 180.7% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 72,197 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,330,000 after buying an additional 46,473 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of CSX during the 4th quarter worth about $1,084,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of CSX by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 3,374,499 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $116,521,000 after acquiring an additional 24,430 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 8,474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in CSX by 3.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 77,488 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $38.00 price target on shares of CSX in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird cut 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. Susquehanna lowered their price target on CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on CSX from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.16.

CSX Price Performance

Shares of CSX stock opened at $31.98 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.87, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $32.59 and its 200-day moving average is $33.72. CSX Co. has a 1 year low of $31.43 and a 1 year high of $38.61.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.02). CSX had a return on equity of 28.15% and a net margin of 23.95%. Sell-side analysts forecast that CSX Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.05%.

CSX Company 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.