HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 49,674 Shares of CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX)

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in CSX Corporation by 3.1%, selling 49,674 shares, and now holds about 1.58 million shares valued at approximately $46.5 million.
• CSX's quarterly earnings topped analysts' expectations, posting earnings per share of $0.44, compared to a predicted $0.42, despite a 3.5% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.13, reflecting a 1.4% dividend yield, with the payment date set for September 15th.

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX - Free Report) by 3.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,578,868 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 49,674 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.08% of CSX worth $46,466,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in CSX by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 262,505 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $7,726,000 after acquiring an additional 22,367 shares during the period. SouthState Corp boosted its holdings in shares of CSX by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 26,351 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $776,000 after purchasing an additional 2,033 shares in the last quarter. CCM Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CSX in the 1st quarter valued at $4,677,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CSX in the 1st quarter valued at $182,550,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of CSX in the 1st quarter valued at $3,668,000. Institutional investors own 73.57% of the company's stock.

CSX Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:CSX opened at $36.08 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $67.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. CSX Corporation has a 12-month low of $26.22 and a 12-month high of $37.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.53.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.57 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that CSX Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. CSX's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CSX. Susquehanna reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of CSX in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of CSX in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on CSX from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $36.00 target price (up previously from $33.00) on shares of CSX in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Baird R W raised CSX to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CSX currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $37.00.

About CSX

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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