Vista Investment Partners II LLC Buys New Position in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Vista Investment Partners II LLC purchased a new position in shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 14,858 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $479,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CSX. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of CSX by 40.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 23,350,087 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $753,507,000 after acquiring an additional 6,730,316 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of CSX during the 4th quarter worth approximately $85,959,000. Perpetual Ltd bought a new position in shares of CSX during the 4th quarter worth approximately $83,301,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of CSX by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,612,862 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $539,112,000 after acquiring an additional 1,447,651 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of CSX by 616.4% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,114,542 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,966,000 after acquiring an additional 958,957 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

CSX Stock Performance

CSX stock opened at $31.26 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.62. 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 stock has a market cap of $59.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.46, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.25. CSX Co. has a fifty-two week low of $30.55 and a fifty-two week high of $38.35.

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%. As a group, analysts expect that CSX Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is 29.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on CSX in a research note on Friday. They set a “hold” rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on CSX from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on CSX from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on CSX from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.00.

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.