Horizon Investments LLC Reduces Stock Position in CSX Corporation $CSX

Key Points

• Horizon Investments LLC cut its stake in CSX by 45.4% in Q4, selling 67,354 shares and finishing the period with 81,001 shares valued at about $2.94 million.
• Analyst sentiment has improved recently—several firms raised price targets and CSX carries a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $45.34.
• Insider activity was mixed: CAO Diana S.orfleet sold 90,000 shares (reducing her holdings by ~35.2%), while CEO Stephen F. Angel bought 25,000 shares (increasing his stake by ~20.6%).

Horizon Investments LLC cut its holdings in CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX - Free Report) by 45.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 81,001 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 67,354 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC's holdings in CSX were worth $2,936,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FNY Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in CSX by 437.3% in the third quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 720 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in CSX in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings in CSX by 121.5% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 1,329 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. Aventura Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in CSX in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in CSX in the third quarter valued at approximately $67,000. 73.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on CSX from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on CSX from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on CSX from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. New Street Research set a $49.00 target price on CSX in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on CSX from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $45.34.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CSX news, CAO Diana B. Sorfleet sold 90,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.56, for a total value of $3,740,400.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 165,613 shares in the company, valued at $6,882,876.28. This trade represents a 35.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen F. Angel purchased 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $40.27 per share, for a total transaction of $1,006,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 146,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,901,165.80. This represents a 20.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CSX Stock Down 0.8%

CSX stock opened at $44.72 on Tuesday. CSX Corporation has a 1-year low of $28.05 and a 1-year high of $46.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market cap of $83.10 billion, a PE ratio of 27.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.24. The stock's fifty day moving average is $41.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.44.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.04. CSX had a return on equity of 24.47% and a net margin of 21.55%.The company had revenue of $3.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.50 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.34 earnings per share. CSX's quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CSX Corporation will post 1.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $0.14 dividend. This is a boost from CSX's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. CSX's payout ratio is 34.36%.

About CSX

CSX Corporation is a leading North American transportation company that provides rail-based freight services and supply-chain solutions. Its operating subsidiary, CSX Transportation, moves a wide range of goods for customers across multiple industries, using a combination of long-haul rail service, intermodal operations and terminal and yard services. The company focuses on delivering efficient, reliable freight transportation between major production centers, consumption markets and port gateways.

CSX's freight portfolio includes intermodal containers and trailers, bulk commodities, industrial products and specialized unit trains.

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