National Pension Service Increases Stake in CSX Corporation $CSX

Key Points

• National Pension Service increased its CSX stake by 0.8% in the second quarter, purchasing 44,973 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 5.57 million shares, worth approximately $264.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 73.57% of the company.
• CSX reported quarterly earnings of $0.54 per share, beating estimates of $0.52, while revenue rose 10.1% year over year to $3.94 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, equating to a 1.2% annual yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with 18 analysts rating CSX a Buy and a consensus price target of $51.31; however, company insiders recently sold shares, including two executives who collectively sold 43,000 shares.

National Pension Service boosted its stake in CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX - Free Report) by 0.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,567,393 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 44,973 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.30% of CSX worth $264,618,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Archer Investment Corp purchased a new position in CSX during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CSX during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CSX during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CSX during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of CSX in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.57% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at CSX

In other CSX news, CAO Angela Williams sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.29, for a total value of $1,598,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 10,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at $556,187.73. This trade represents a 74.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael Burns sold 13,000 shares of CSX stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.68, for a total transaction of $684,840.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 59,643 shares in the company, valued at $3,141,993.24. This represents a 17.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CSX shares. Susquehanna upgraded CSX from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $50.00 to $58.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a report on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $32.00 price objective on CSX and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on CSX in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of CSX from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.31.

CSX Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ:CSX opened at $48.37 on Thursday. The business's 50-day moving average is $50.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.60 billion, a PE ratio of 27.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.21. CSX Corporation has a 12 month low of $31.80 and a 12 month high of $53.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. CSX had a return on equity of 24.98% and a net margin of 22.21%.The company had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.44 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that CSX Corporation will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. CSX's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.37%.

CSX Profile

CSX Corporation NASDAQ: CSX is a transportation company that operates one of the largest rail networks in the eastern United States. Through its CSX Transportation subsidiary, the company provides rail freight transportation and logistics services for manufacturers, distributors, utilities, agricultural businesses and other commercial customers.

CSX transports a broad range of products, including chemicals, agricultural and food products, minerals, forest products, metals, automobiles and consumer goods.

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