Guardian Investment Management Trims Stock Holdings in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Guardian Investment Management reduced its holdings in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,150 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. CSX makes up 1.3% of Guardian Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Guardian Investment Management’s holdings in CSX were worth $1,565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSX. Bornite Capital Management LP acquired a new position in CSX in the first quarter valued at $14,980,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in CSX by 6.0% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,158,544 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $230,637,000 after purchasing an additional 347,514 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in CSX by 12.7% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 122,334 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,581,000 after purchasing an additional 13,829 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in CSX by 4.5% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 195,872 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,361,000 after acquiring an additional 8,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in CSX by 16.8% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 71,521 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,678,000 after acquiring an additional 10,276 shares during the last quarter. 73.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CSX Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CSX traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $34.50. 15,501,031 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,962,398. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.32. CSX Co. has a 52 week low of $29.03 and a 52 week high of $40.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.18.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The transportation company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.01. CSX had a return on equity of 30.52% and a net margin of 25.35%. The company had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.48 EPS. CSX’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that CSX Co. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This is an increase from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on CSX shares. StockNews.com lowered CSX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Susquehanna upped their price target on CSX from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on CSX from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on CSX from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on CSX from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.72.

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.