AlphaQuest LLC Raises Stake in CSX Corporation $CSX

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in CSX Corporation by an impressive 1,609.2%, acquiring a total of 92,040 shares worth approximately $2.7 million.
• Several analysts have upgraded their price targets for CSX, with Barclays setting a new target of $38.00 and JPMorgan Chase raising theirs to $41.00, reflecting a generally positive sentiment towards the stock.
• CSX recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, translating to a 1.4% yield, reaffirming its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in shares of CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX - Free Report) by 1,609.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 92,040 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 86,655 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in CSX were worth $2,709,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CSX. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in CSX by 21.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 28,383,830 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $835,336,000 after buying an additional 5,033,743 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CSX by 12.5% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 23,456,085 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $690,359,000 after purchasing an additional 2,599,518 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of CSX by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 22,067,356 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $649,442,000 after purchasing an additional 969,567 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CSX by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 21,124,807 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $681,696,000 after purchasing an additional 707,934 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of CSX by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 18,742,431 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $551,540,000 after purchasing an additional 1,856,322 shares during the last quarter. 73.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CSX Price Performance

Shares of CSX stock traded down $1.77 on Monday, reaching $32.81. 64,358,357 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,950,850. The company has a market cap of $61.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $34.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.77. CSX Corporation has a 1 year low of $26.22 and a 1 year high of $37.25.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.57 billion. CSX had a net margin of 21.92% and a return on equity of 25.48%. CSX's revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that CSX Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders 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 1.6%. CSX's dividend payout ratio is 32.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on CSX shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of CSX from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Susquehanna restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of CSX in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on shares of CSX from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of CSX from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.