Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Increases Stake in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 1.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,859,424 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 78,990 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in CSX were worth $167,796,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. First National Trust Co increased its holdings in CSX by 0.3% in the third quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 140,471 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,850,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP raised its holdings in CSX by 30.8% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 21,472 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $741,000 after purchasing an additional 5,054 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of CSX by 348.5% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of CSX in the 3rd quarter valued at $67,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of CSX in the 3rd quarter valued at $83,000. 73.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CSX. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on CSX from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on CSX from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of CSX from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of CSX in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.72.

CSX Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of CSX stock opened at $36.13 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $34.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.84. The stock has a market cap of $69.67 billion, a PE ratio of 19.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. CSX Co. has a 12-month low of $30.30 and a 12-month high of $40.12.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The transportation company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). CSX had a return on equity of 28.92% and a net margin of 24.77%. The firm had revenue of $3.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that CSX Co. will post 1.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. CSX’s payout ratio is 25.81%.

CSX Profile

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.