Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC Reduces Holdings in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 12.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 63,941 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 8,968 shares during the quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in CSX were worth $2,063,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CSX. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of CSX by 40.5% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 6,730,316 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd purchased a new position in shares of CSX during the 4th quarter valued at $83,301,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of CSX by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,612,862 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $539,112,000 after buying an additional 1,447,651 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of CSX by 616.4% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,114,542 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,966,000 after buying an additional 958,957 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CSX by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,656,931 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $851,404,000 after buying an additional 857,302 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

CSX Price Performance

Shares of CSX stock opened at $31.93 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.57 billion, a PE ratio of 17.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $32.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.69. CSX Co. has a 12 month low of $31.43 and a 12 month high of $38.61.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.02). CSX had a net margin of 23.95% and a return on equity of 28.15%. Sell-side 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 will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is 29.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CSX shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on CSX from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on CSX from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a report on Monday, January 27th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.16.

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.