Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Sells 8,955 Shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. reduced its stake in shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 19.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,243 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 8,955 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in CSX were worth $1,256,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Summit Global Investments boosted its position in CSX by 69.4% in the fourth quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 16,253 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 6,658 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its position in CSX by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 784,680 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $27,204,000 after acquiring an additional 77,461 shares during the period. Summit Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in CSX in the fourth quarter valued at about $218,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in CSX by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,378,276 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $775,855,000 after buying an additional 470,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CSX by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC now owns 34,236 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after buying an additional 1,938 shares during the last quarter. 73.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of CSX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of CSX from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of CSX from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of CSX in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of CSX from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.00.

CSX Price Performance

NASDAQ CSX opened at $33.68 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $36.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.61. CSX Co. has a 52 week low of $29.03 and a 52 week high of $40.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.51, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.19.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The transportation company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.66 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.48 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that CSX Co. will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This is a positive change from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.37%.

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.