Millstone Evans Group LLC Takes $37,000 Position in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,134 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CSX. Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of CSX by 180.7% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 72,197 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,330,000 after buying an additional 46,473 shares during the period. Marshall Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in CSX during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,084,000. Carnegie Investment Counsel lifted its position in CSX by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 612,051 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $19,751,000 after acquiring an additional 8,474 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of CSX by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 653,025 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $22,549,000 after purchasing an additional 41,547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waycross Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of CSX by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Waycross Partners LLC now owns 619,471 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $19,990,000 after purchasing an additional 40,611 shares during the period. 73.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CSX. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on CSX from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of CSX in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of CSX from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Loop Capital lowered CSX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $34.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.00.

CSX Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of CSX opened at $29.85 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 1.23. CSX Co. has a 1-year low of $28.98 and a 1-year high of $37.40. The stock has a market cap of $56.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.31.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last released 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 return on equity of 28.15% and a net margin of 23.95%. Equities analysts forecast that CSX Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This is an increase from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.