Great Lakes Advisors LLC Has $88.64 Million Position in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,746,728 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 109,143 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in CSX were worth $88,637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSX. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of CSX during the 3rd quarter valued at $499,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in CSX by 7.3% during the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,771 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $545,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp lifted its holdings in shares of CSX by 4.6% in the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 47,687 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,647,000 after buying an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CSX by 346.0% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 43,802 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,512,000 after buying an additional 33,980 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in CSX in the third quarter valued at approximately $83,000. 73.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CSX has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $37.00 price target (down from $38.00) on shares of CSX in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 price target on shares of CSX in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of CSX in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $34.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CSX currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

CSX Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CSX opened at $29.52 on Wednesday. CSX Co. has a fifty-two week low of $29.50 and a fifty-two week high of $38.14. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.58. The company has a market capitalization of $55.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 0.86.

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

CSX Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. This is an increase from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.05%.

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.