CSX Corporation $CSX Stock: Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stake

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) by 84.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 60,779 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 339,846 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in CSX were worth $2,827,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CSX. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of CSX during the second quarter valued at $7,655,277,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of CSX in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,598,962,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of CSX in the 2nd quarter valued at $950,325,000. XXEC Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CSX in the 2nd quarter worth about $765,595,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of CSX in the 2nd quarter worth about $747,001,000. 73.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at CSX

In related news, Director John Zillmer sold 19,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.24, for a total value of $999,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 334,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,125,125.36. This trade represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CSX Stock Performance

CSX stock opened at $52.40 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. CSX Corporation has a 12-month low of $33.63 and a 12-month high of $53.60.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The transportation company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.96 billion. CSX had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 25.94%. The company’s revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that CSX Corporation will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 30th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is 29.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CSX. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of CSX from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Argus set a $56.00 price target on shares of CSX in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of CSX from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Deutsche Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 target price (up from $54.00) on shares of CSX in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CSX has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.20.

About CSX

CSX Corporation is a freight transportation company that operates one of the largest rail networks in the eastern United States. Its rail system serves customers across much of the eastern U.S., as well as parts of Canada, and connects with other railroads and ports. CSX transports a broad range of goods, including chemicals, agricultural and food products, automobiles, minerals, forest products, coal and intermodal freight. Its services include rail transportation, intermodal shipping that combines rail and truck transport, and related logistics and supply-chain services.