Alberta Investment Management Corp Buys 79,372 Shares of CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX)

Key Points

• Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its holdings in CSX Corporation by 23.2%, acquiring 79,372 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total to 421,398 shares valued at approximately $12.4 million.
• CSX reported quarterly earnings with $0.44 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, although its revenue saw a decline of 3.5% compared to the previous year.
• Analysts are optimistic, with Barclays and BMO Capital raising their price targets for CSX to between $38.00 and $42.00, reflecting a strong endorsement from multiple financial institutions.

Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its stake in shares of CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX - Free Report) by 23.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 421,398 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 79,372 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp's holdings in CSX were worth $12,402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of CSX by 21.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 28,383,830 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $835,336,000 after buying an additional 5,033,743 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in CSX by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 25,103,077 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $810,076,000 after purchasing an additional 2,977,212 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in CSX by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 21,124,807 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $681,696,000 after buying an additional 707,934 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of CSX by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 21,097,789 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $680,826,000 after buying an additional 2,550,929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of CSX by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 20,856,567 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $673,025,000 after purchasing an additional 9,863,587 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.57% of the company's stock.

CSX Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of CSX stock traded up $0.36 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $36.01. 12,123,322 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,025,251. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.25. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $33.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.63. CSX Corporation has a 1-year low of $26.22 and a 1-year high of $37.10.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.57 billion. CSX had a return on equity of 25.48% and a net margin of 21.92%. CSX's revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CSX Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. CSX's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on CSX. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $36.00 price objective (up from $33.00) on shares of CSX in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Baird R W raised CSX to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of CSX from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of CSX from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of CSX from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $32.00 to $45.00 in a report on Monday, July 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.00.

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.