The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Reduces Stock Position in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its position in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,573,574 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 105,931 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in CSX were worth $83,049,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in CSX during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of CSX in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in CSX during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its position in CSX by 219.0% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,040 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 714 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Center for Financial Planning Inc. lifted its holdings in CSX by 205.7% in the fourth quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 1,070 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 720 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of CSX from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of CSX from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of CSX from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of CSX in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on CSX from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.86.

CSX Stock Up 0.6 %

CSX stock opened at $28.05 on Wednesday. CSX Co. has a 12 month low of $26.22 and a 12 month high of $37.10. The company has a market cap of $52.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $29.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.18.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The transportation company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.05). CSX had a return on equity of 28.15% and a net margin of 23.95%. The firm had revenue of $3.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that CSX Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.14%.

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.