CSX Corporation $CSX Shares Sold by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in CSX Corporation by 2.5%, selling 15,259 shares and holding a total of 589,650 shares worth $17.35 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Research firms have mixed ratings on CSX, with Wall Street Zen downgrading it to "sell" while others like Baird R W have upgraded to "strong-buy," highlighting varied analyst opinions on the stock's future performance.
• CSX announced a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 1.6%, with a payout ratio currently standing at 32.10%.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 589,650 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 15,259 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in CSX were worth $17,353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CSX. Associated Banc Corp grew its stake in CSX by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Associated Banc Corp now owns 40,384 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,189,000 after buying an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CSX by 1.3% during the first quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 27,335 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $804,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the period. Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC grew its position in shares of CSX by 1.3% during the first quarter. Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC now owns 29,276 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $862,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of CSX by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 8,254 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the period. Finally, Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CSX by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 32,205 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $948,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.57% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on CSX. Wall Street Zen cut shares of CSX from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Baird R W raised CSX to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on CSX from $34.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Benchmark boosted their price target on CSX from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Bank of America raised CSX from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $34.00 to $42.00 in a report on Thursday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.00.

CSX Stock Down 1.2%

CSX opened at $32.41 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $60.42 billion, a PE ratio of 20.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.25. The stock's fifty day moving average is $34.34 and its 200-day moving average is $31.66. CSX Corporation has a one year low of $26.22 and a one year high of $37.25.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. CSX had a return on equity of 25.48% and a net margin of 21.92%.The business had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that CSX Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Announces Dividend

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 $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. CSX's payout ratio is presently 32.10%.

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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