Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stake in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX - Free Report) by 55.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 178,850 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 63,551 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in CSX were worth $5,771,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of CSX during the 4th quarter valued at $780,194,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CSX by 89.7% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 20,856,567 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $673,025,000 after buying an additional 9,863,587 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in CSX by 40.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 23,350,087 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $753,507,000 after buying an additional 6,730,316 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its position in CSX by 471.9% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 6,748,661 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $217,808,000 after buying an additional 5,568,624 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Management Inc. WI purchased a new stake in CSX during the fourth quarter worth about $178,259,000. 73.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CSX Price Performance

CSX stock traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $31.30. 15,563,107 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,826,168. CSX Co. has a 52 week low of $26.22 and a 52 week high of $37.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $58.80 billion, a PE ratio of 17.49, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.22. The company's fifty day moving average is $28.76 and its 200-day moving average is $31.81.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The transportation company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $3.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.53 billion. CSX had a return on equity of 28.15% and a net margin of 23.95%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that CSX Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

CSX Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. CSX's payout ratio is currently 31.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CSX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of CSX from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of CSX from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on CSX from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on CSX from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on CSX from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $33.90.

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.