Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,771 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 1,075 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in CSX were worth $545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Interval Partners LP grew its stake in shares of CSX by 849.0% during the second quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 5,118,751 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $171,222,000 after buying an additional 4,579,344 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in CSX in the 2nd quarter valued at $116,430,000. M&G Plc bought a new position in CSX in the 1st quarter valued at $126,089,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in CSX by 318.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,270,966 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $112,946,000 after purchasing an additional 2,489,329 shares during the period. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its position in shares of CSX by 3,243.0% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 2,192,246 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $73,331,000 after purchasing an additional 2,126,668 shares during the last quarter. 73.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CSX Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of CSX stock opened at $36.52 on Tuesday. CSX Co. has a 1-year low of $30.30 and a 1-year 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $34.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.43 billion, a PE ratio of 19.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.19.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The transportation company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.68 billion. CSX had a return on equity of 28.92% and a net margin of 24.77%. CSX’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that CSX Co. will post 1.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. CSX’s payout ratio is currently 25.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CSX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of CSX from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on CSX from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Susquehanna cut their price target on CSX from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of CSX from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of CSX from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CSX currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.61.

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.