Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Position in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 3.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,348,543 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 77,488 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of CSX worth $81,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Western Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in CSX by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 36,127 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,208,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CSX by 2.7% during the second quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,524 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $385,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in shares of CSX by 1.8% during the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 17,246 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $595,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of CSX by 0.9% during the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 35,401 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,222,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of CSX by 33.7% during the third quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,253 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. 73.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CSX Price Performance

NASDAQ CSX opened at $36.00 on Friday. CSX Co. has a 12 month low of $30.13 and a 12 month high of $40.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.42 billion, a PE ratio of 19.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.82.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The transportation company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). CSX had a net margin of 24.77% and a return on equity of 28.92%. The company had revenue of $3.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. CSX’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CSX Co. will post 1.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on CSX. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of CSX from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of CSX from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of CSX from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of CSX from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.61.

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.