Legal & General Group Plc Makes New $747 Million Investment in CSX Corporation $CSX

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 15,716,411 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $747,001,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.85% of CSX as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its stake 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. Syon Capital LLC raised its holdings in CSX by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 28,316 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,026,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in CSX by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,757 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $172,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in CSX by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,235 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $480,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. grew its stake in CSX by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 39,996 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,450,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

CSX Price Performance

CSX stock opened at $51.44 on Tuesday. CSX Corporation has a 12 month low of $31.80 and a 12 month high of $53.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $49.46 and its 200-day moving average is $45.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company has a market capitalization of $95.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.73, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.21.

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

CSX Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price objective (up from $48.00) on shares of CSX in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of CSX from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 target price (up from $51.00) on shares of CSX in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 price target on shares of CSX in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of CSX from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CSX presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.31.

Insider Transactions at CSX

In other news, CAO Angela C. Williams sold 30,000 shares of CSX stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 10,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,187.73. This trade represents a 74.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael S. Burns sold 13,000 shares of CSX stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.68, for a total value of $684,840.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 59,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,141,993.24. This represents a 17.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 189,708 shares of company stock worth $9,132,304 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CSX Profile

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.