State of Michigan Retirement System Trims Stake in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

State of Michigan Retirement System lessened its holdings in shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 523,384 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 4,600 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in CSX were worth $16,890,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in CSX by 11.4% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 8,254 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 842 shares during the period. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CSX by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 11,507 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of CSX by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 696,804 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $24,061,000 after acquiring an additional 3,037 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in CSX by 35.9% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 956,778 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,139,000 after acquiring an additional 252,592 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in CSX by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 355,061 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $12,260,000 after acquiring an additional 56,163 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CSX shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of CSX from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $37.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of CSX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $34.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on CSX from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on CSX from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of CSX in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.16.

CSX Price Performance

CSX stock opened at $31.20 on Wednesday. CSX Co. has a 52-week low of $31.17 and a 52-week high of $38.61. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $32.57 and its 200 day moving average is $33.68. The company has a market cap of $60.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.23.

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

CSX Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. This is a positive change from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. 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.