LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in CSX Corporation $CSX

LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 33,225 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,579,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CSX. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of CSX during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its holdings in CSX by 58.0% in the 2nd quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 681 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in CSX in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in CSX during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in CSX by 97.4% during the 1st quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 829 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on CSX shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of CSX from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $41.00 price target (up from $37.00) on shares of CSX in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of CSX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on CSX from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $32.00 price objective on CSX and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CSX presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.31.

CSX Stock Up 0.6%

CSX stock opened at $50.97 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $94.42 billion, a PE ratio of 29.46, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.21. CSX Corporation has a 12-month low of $31.80 and a 12-month high of $53.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $49.30 and its 200 day moving average is $45.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. CSX had a return on equity of 24.98% and a net margin of 22.21%.The business had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CSX Corporation will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.37%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John J. Zillmer sold 10,000 shares of CSX stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.45, for a total transaction of $464,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 353,714 shares in the company, valued at $16,430,015.30. The trade was a 2.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Angela C. Williams sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.29, for a total transaction of $1,598,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,437 shares in the company, valued at $556,187.73. This trade represents a 74.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 189,708 shares of company stock valued at $9,132,304 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

About CSX

CSX Corporation is a leading North American transportation company that provides rail-based freight services and supply-chain solutions. Its operating subsidiary, CSX Transportation, moves a wide range of goods for customers across multiple industries, using a combination of long-haul rail service, intermodal operations and terminal and yard services. The company focuses on delivering efficient, reliable freight transportation between major production centers, consumption markets and port gateways.

CSX’s freight portfolio includes intermodal containers and trailers, bulk commodities, industrial products and specialized unit trains.