New England Asset Management Inc. Grows Stock Position in CSX Corporation $CSX

Key Points

• New England Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in CSX Corporation by 38% during the 1st quarter, owning 186,395 shares worth approximately $5.49 million.
• CSX reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.44, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.42, despite a 3.5% decrease in revenue year-over-year.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.6% and a payout ratio of 32.10%.

New England Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX - Free Report) by 38.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 186,395 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 51,280 shares during the quarter. New England Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in CSX were worth $5,486,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Associated Banc Corp increased its position in shares of CSX by 0.9% in the first quarter. Associated Banc Corp now owns 40,384 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,189,000 after buying an additional 356 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of CSX by 1.3% in the first quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 27,335 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $804,000 after buying an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC increased its position in shares of CSX by 1.3% in the first quarter. Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC now owns 29,276 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $862,000 after buying an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC increased its position in shares of CSX by 4.8% in the first quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 8,254 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of CSX by 1.2% in the first quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 32,205 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $948,000 after buying an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. 73.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CSX Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ CSX traded up $0.59 during trading on Thursday, hitting $32.64. 3,872,724 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,818,367. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $34.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.63. CSX Corporation has a 1 year low of $26.22 and a 1 year high of $37.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.25.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%.The company's revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that CSX Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

CSX Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. CSX's payout ratio is presently 32.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CSX. TD Cowen upgraded CSX from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $32.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on CSX from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on CSX from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on CSX from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.