CSX Corporation $CSX Shares Acquired by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group increased its CSX position by 9.6% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 413,958 shares worth approximately $20 million. Institutional investors collectively own 73.57% of CSX.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with 18 Buy ratings, seven Holds and one Sell; the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a $51.31 target price.
• CSX exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.54 in EPS and $3.94 billion in revenue, while revenue rose 10.1% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, equivalent to a 1.1% annual yield.

Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX - Free Report) by 9.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 413,958 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 36,207 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in CSX were worth $19,988,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CSX. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CSX by 7.2% in the second quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 3,142 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $149,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its position in shares of CSX by 58.0% in the 2nd quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 681 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust grew its position in shares of CSX by 0.4% in the second quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 69,023 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,281,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC raised its position in shares of CSX by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 28,316 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,026,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in CSX by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 18,038 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $874,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.57% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on CSX shares. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price target (up from $55.00) on shares of CSX in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of CSX in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered CSX from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $52.00 price target (up from $49.00) on shares of CSX in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at CSX

In related news, SVP Michael S. Burns sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.68, for a total value of $684,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 59,643 shares in the company, valued at $3,141,993.24. This represents a 17.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Angela C. Williams sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.29, for a total transaction of $1,598,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $556,187.73. The trade was a 74.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CSX Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:CSX opened at $48.95 on Friday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $50.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.12. CSX Corporation has a one year low of $32.18 and a one year high of $53.60. The stock has a market cap of $90.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.82.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. CSX had a net margin of 22.21% and a return on equity of 24.98%. The company had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. The company's revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CSX Corporation will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. CSX's payout ratio is currently 32.37%.

About CSX

CSX Corporation NASDAQ: CSX is a transportation company that operates one of the largest rail networks in the eastern United States. Through its CSX Transportation subsidiary, the company provides rail freight transportation and logistics services for manufacturers, distributors, utilities, agricultural businesses and other commercial customers.

CSX transports a broad range of products, including chemicals, agricultural and food products, minerals, forest products, metals, automobiles and consumer goods.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CSX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.