Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 524,311 Shares of CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX)

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its holdings in CSX Corporation by 20.7%, selling 524,311 shares to end up with approximately 2,005,625 shares, valued at $58,978,000.
• CSX Corporation reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, exceeding analyst estimates, although revenue was down 3.5% compared to the previous year.
• CSX declared a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.4% and a payout ratio of 32.10%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its stake in CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX - Free Report) by 20.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,005,625 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 524,311 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.11% of CSX worth $58,978,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of CSX by 15.1% in the first quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 12,514 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 1,642 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in CSX by 9.8% during the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 38,757 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,141,000 after acquiring an additional 3,458 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in CSX by 61.4% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 14,154 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 5,382 shares during the period. Cercano Management LLC bought a new position in CSX during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,869,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in CSX by 23.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 35,910 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,057,000 after acquiring an additional 6,766 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.57% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded CSX from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on CSX from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup boosted their price target on CSX from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Susquehanna reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on CSX from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.00.

CSX Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of CSX stock traded down $0.03 on Friday, hitting $36.32. 17,898,133 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,141,444. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $33.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.71 billion, a PE ratio of 21.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.25. CSX Corporation has a one year low of $26.22 and a one year high of $37.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.63.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.57 billion. CSX had a net margin of 21.92% and a return on equity of 25.48%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that CSX Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. CSX's 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.