DnB Asset Management AS Buys 37,111 Shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

DnB Asset Management AS lifted its position in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 897,913 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 37,111 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in CSX were worth $28,976,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CSX. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in CSX by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 82,250,713 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,840,117,000 after purchasing an additional 455,258 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CSX by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,906,826 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,407,087,000 after buying an additional 190,346 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CSX by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,956,467 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $805,345,000 after buying an additional 299,536 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in CSX in the 4th quarter valued at about $780,194,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in CSX by 40.5% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 6,730,316 shares during the period. 73.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on CSX. Citigroup decreased their target price on CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective (down from $38.00) on shares of CSX in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on CSX from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.75.

CSX Price Performance

CSX stock opened at $29.11 on Friday. CSX Co. has a 52 week low of $28.98 and a 52 week high of $37.10. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $31.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.20. The stock has a market cap of $54.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.02). CSX had a return on equity of 28.15% and a net margin of 23.95%. On average, equities analysts predict that CSX Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. This is a positive change from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.05%.

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.