Choate Investment Advisors Increases Stock Position in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Choate Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 21,257 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,417 shares during the quarter. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in CSX were worth $686,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in CSX by 0.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 82,250,713 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,840,117,000 after buying an additional 455,258 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CSX by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,906,826 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,407,087,000 after acquiring an additional 190,346 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in CSX by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,956,467 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $805,345,000 after purchasing an additional 299,536 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in CSX by 40.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 23,350,087 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $753,507,000 after purchasing an additional 6,730,316 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in CSX by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,612,862 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $539,112,000 after purchasing an additional 1,447,651 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CSX shares. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on CSX from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $37.00 price target (down from $38.00) on shares of CSX in a report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $38.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.00.

CSX Stock Performance

Shares of CSX opened at $30.01 on Monday. CSX Co. has a 12-month low of $28.98 and a 12-month high of $38.03. The stock has a market cap of $56.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.77, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.25. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $32.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.49.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.02). CSX had a net margin of 23.95% and a return on equity of 28.15%. As a group, research analysts predict that CSX Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.05%.

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.