Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Purchases 1,215,517 Shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX - Free Report) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,886,109 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,215,517 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.88% of CSX worth $544,904,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of CSX in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of CSX during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. increased its position in CSX by 205.7% during the 4th quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 1,070 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 720 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CSX by 216.2% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,091 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of CSX in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 73.57% of the company's stock.

CSX Price Performance

CSX traded up $0.41 during trading on Thursday, hitting $28.00. 6,995,097 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,804,964. The company has a market cap of $52.59 billion, a PE ratio of 15.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta 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 current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $29.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.36.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX - Get Free Report) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $3.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.53 billion. CSX had a net margin of 23.95% and a return on equity of 28.15%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CSX Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from CSX's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. CSX's payout ratio is 31.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of CSX from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $33.00 target price (down previously from $34.00) on shares of CSX in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of CSX from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of CSX from $31.00 to $28.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of CSX in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CSX has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $33.95.

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.