Blue Trust Inc. Acquires 14,953 Shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 29.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,189 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,953 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in CSX were worth $2,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of CSX in the second quarter worth $26,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in CSX during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in CSX in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in CSX in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of CSX in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

CSX Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of CSX stock opened at $34.12 on Friday. CSX Co. has a 1-year low of $29.03 and a 1-year high of $40.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $66.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.75, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $34.02 and a 200-day moving average of $33.95.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The transportation company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.68 billion. CSX had a net margin of 24.52% and a return on equity of 29.11%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CSX Co. will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. CSX’s payout ratio is 26.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CSX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of CSX from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Citigroup started coverage on CSX in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $42.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on CSX from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Susquehanna lowered their target price on CSX from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of CSX in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.61.

CSX Company 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.