Ascent Group LLC Sells 14,533 Shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Ascent Group LLC decreased its stake in shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 19.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 60,652 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 14,533 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in CSX were worth $2,094,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CSX. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in CSX by 2.5% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,790 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in CSX by 0.8% during the second quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 36,127 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,208,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in CSX by 2.7% during the second quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,524 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in CSX by 1.8% during the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 17,246 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $595,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its stake in CSX by 0.9% during the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 35,401 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,222,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CSX. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of CSX from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of CSX from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of CSX from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Stephens reduced their target price on shares of CSX from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CSX currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.78.

CSX Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of CSX stock opened at $36.34 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.23. CSX Co. has a 1 year low of $31.74 and a 1 year high of $40.12. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $34.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.03. The stock has a market cap of $70.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.54, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.19.

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

CSX Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.81%.

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.