PFG Investments LLC Boosts Position in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

PFG Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 111.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,366 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 9,685 shares during the quarter. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in CSX were worth $681,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Donaldson Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CSX by 6.8% in the first quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 141,253 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,236,000 after buying an additional 8,997 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in CSX by 7.7% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,810,990 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $67,133,000 after acquiring an additional 128,941 shares in the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CSX during the first quarter valued at approximately $226,000. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of CSX during the first quarter worth $200,000. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its stake in shares of CSX by 13.5% in the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 48,775 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,808,000 after purchasing an additional 5,808 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

CSX Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CSX traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $33.95. 11,084,048 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,354,156. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $36.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.00. CSX Co. has a twelve month low of $29.03 and a twelve month high of $40.12.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The transportation company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.01. CSX had a net margin of 24.75% and a return on equity of 29.58%. The company had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.48 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that CSX Co. will post 1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. This is a positive change from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CSX shares. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. TD Cowen upped their target price on CSX from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of CSX from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of CSX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CSX presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.00.

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.