MetLife Investment Management LLC Cuts Stake in CSX Corporation $CSX

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in CSX Corporation by 1.9%, selling 9,547 shares and ending up with 500,856 shares worth approximately $14.74 million.
• Wall Street analysts are optimistic about CSX, with JPMorgan Chase raising their price target from $34 to $41 and Bank of America upgrading their rating to a buy with a target of $42.
• CSX has recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, equivalent to an annualized yield of 1.6%, with the ex-dividend date set for August 29th.

MetLife Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX - Free Report) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 500,856 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 9,547 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in CSX were worth $14,740,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CSX in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new stake in CSX in the first quarter worth $28,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in CSX in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in CSX in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in CSX in the first quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.57% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CSX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on CSX from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen cut CSX from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $36.00 price objective (up previously from $33.00) on shares of CSX in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on CSX from $34.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $37.00.

CSX Stock Performance

Shares of CSX stock traded down $0.15 on Friday, hitting $32.51. 13,464,388 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,100,004. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.61 billion, a PE ratio of 20.07, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.25. CSX Corporation has a 1 year low of $26.22 and a 1 year high of $37.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.77.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.44 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CSX Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

CSX Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. CSX's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.10%.

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.