Level Four Advisory Services LLC Buys 1,449 Shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Level Four Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 17.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 9,990 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,449 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in CSX were worth $322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in CSX by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 82,250,713 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,840,117,000 after buying an additional 455,258 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CSX by 0.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,906,826 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,407,087,000 after purchasing an additional 190,346 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CSX by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,956,467 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $805,345,000 after purchasing an additional 299,536 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in CSX in the fourth quarter worth $780,194,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in CSX by 40.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 23,350,087 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $753,507,000 after purchasing an additional 6,730,316 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

CSX Price Performance

Shares of CSX opened at $29.43 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.47 billion, a PE ratio of 16.44, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $31.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.17. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $28.98 and a fifty-two week high of $37.10.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last announced its quarterly 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%. Equities analysts predict that CSX Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This is a boost from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CSX. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of CSX from $34.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on CSX from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Loop Capital downgraded CSX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $40.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 price target on shares of CSX in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.75.

CSX Company 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.