Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 4,924 Shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Retirement Systems of Alabama reduced its stake in shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 1.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 431,236 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 4,924 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in CSX were worth $14,425,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of CSX during the 4th quarter valued at $757,276,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of CSX by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 64,807,961 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,246,893,000 after acquiring an additional 9,914,656 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in CSX by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 40,353,078 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,399,104,000 after buying an additional 5,041,679 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CSX in the second quarter worth about $116,430,000. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new stake in CSX during the 1st quarter worth approximately $126,089,000. Institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

CSX Stock Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ CSX traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $33.69. 10,397,905 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,735,369. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.87. CSX Co. has a 52-week low of $29.03 and a 52-week high of $40.12. The firm has a market cap of $65.86 billion, a PE ratio of 18.51, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.20.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The transportation company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. CSX had a net margin of 24.75% and a return on equity of 29.58%. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. CSX’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CSX Co. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. CSX’s payout ratio is 26.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CSX shares. Bank of America cut shares of CSX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on CSX from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on CSX from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of CSX in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on CSX from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.80.

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.