CSX Corporation $CSX Shares Bought by Empowered Funds LLC

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC has increased its stake in CSX Corporation by 38.8%, now owning 280,476 shares valued at approximately $8.25 million.
• Other institutional investors, including Bank of New York Mellon Corp and Ameriprise Financial Inc., also raised their holdings in CSX during the first quarter, reflecting positive sentiment towards the company.
• CSX reported a quarterly EPS of $0.44, beating estimates by $0.02, despite a 3.5% decline in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.

Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX - Free Report) by 38.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 280,476 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 78,336 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in CSX were worth $8,254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in CSX by 21.6% during the first 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 acquiring an additional 5,033,743 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in CSX by 12.5% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of CSX by 4.6% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 22,067,356 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $649,442,000 after purchasing an additional 969,567 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position 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 worth $551,540,000 after purchasing an additional 1,856,322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in CSX by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,389,771 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $394,061,000 after buying an additional 1,964,994 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.57% of the company's stock.

CSX Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of CSX stock opened at $32.20 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. CSX Corporation has a twelve month low of $26.22 and a twelve month high of $37.25. The company's 50-day moving average price is $34.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.63. The stock has a market cap of $60.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.25.

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

CSX Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. 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 currently 32.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on CSX from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays boosted their price target on CSX from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Benchmark increased their target price on shares of CSX from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of CSX in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average 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.

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