HighTower Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 98.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,628,542 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 809,238 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.08% of CSX worth $52,553,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its holdings in CSX by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 74,115 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,392,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in CSX in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,861,000. Cornerstone Advisors LLC grew its holdings in CSX by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 147,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,747,000 after buying an additional 3,400 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC grew its holdings in CSX by 52.2% in the 4th quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 10,466 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 3,590 shares during the period. Finally, Vista Investment Partners II LLC purchased a new stake in CSX in the 4th quarter valued at about $479,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CSX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded CSX from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $37.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on CSX from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective (down from $38.00) on shares of CSX in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $38.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CSX has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.00.

CSX Stock Performance

CSX stock opened at $29.13 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $32.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.52. CSX Co. has a one year low of $28.98 and a one year high of $38.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.27, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 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, sell-side analysts expect that CSX Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. This is a positive change from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.