Royal Bank of Canada Grows Stock Holdings in CSX Corporation $CSX

Key Points

• The Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in CSX Corporation by 2.5%, acquiring an additional 259,634 shares, bringing its total holdings to approximately 10.77 million shares valued at $316.8 million.
• Several analysts have revised their price targets for CSX, with forecasts ranging from $37.00 to $45.00, reflecting positive sentiment towards the stock.
• CSX announced a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, translating to an annual yield of 1.6% and a payout ratio of 32.1%.

Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX - Free Report) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,765,150 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 259,634 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.57% of CSX worth $316,819,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP raised its holdings in CSX by 70.0% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 7,524 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 3,099 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in CSX by 7.2% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 414,610 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $12,202,000 after buying an additional 27,713 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC grew its position in CSX by 130.2% during the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 102,926 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,029,000 after buying an additional 58,205 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its position in CSX by 7.1% during the first quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 13,105 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 866 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in CSX by 3.3% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,659,056 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $78,255,000 after buying an additional 85,482 shares during the period. 73.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CSX Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CSX traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $32.28. 17,433,751 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 23,665,052. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The business's fifty day moving average is $34.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.64. CSX Corporation has a one year low of $26.22 and a one year high of $37.25. The stock has a market cap of $60.18 billion, a PE ratio of 19.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.25.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.44 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $3.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. CSX's revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that CSX Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. CSX's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of CSX from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $38.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of CSX from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of CSX from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of CSX in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of CSX from $34.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat, CSX has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.