Neuberger Berman Group LLC Sells 3,591,154 Shares of CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX)

Key Points

• Neuberger Berman Group LLC has reduced its stake in CSX Corporation by 26.5%, selling 3,591,154 shares and now holding approximately 0.53% of the company, valued at around $292 million.
• Several institutional investors are increasing their holdings in CSX, with Ameriprise Financial Inc. raising its stake by 89.7% to 20.86 million shares, reflecting strong investor interest.
• CSX recently reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.44, surpassing analyst expectations, but its revenue was down 3.5% year-over-year at $3.57 billion.

Neuberger Berman Group LLC decreased its stake in CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX - Free Report) by 26.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,940,578 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 3,591,154 shares during the quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned 0.53% of CSX worth $292,661,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in CSX by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 16,254 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $525,000 after acquiring an additional 849 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in CSX by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 639,827 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $20,652,000 after acquiring an additional 53,234 shares in the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in CSX in the 4th quarter worth about $409,000. Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in CSX by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 10,248 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 1,608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in CSX by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 80,144 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,586,000 after acquiring an additional 2,169 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.57% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CSX shares. Bank of America raised CSX from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $34.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Benchmark increased their price objective on CSX from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on CSX from $34.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Argus set a $32.00 price target on CSX in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Baird R W raised CSX to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CSX has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.00.

CSX Stock Performance

CSX traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $36.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 17,898,133 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,141,444. The stock has a market cap of $67.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.42, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. CSX Corporation has a twelve month low of $26.22 and a twelve month high of $37.10.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. The company's revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that CSX Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CSX Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. CSX's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.