Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Trims Stock Position in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its holdings in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 42,726 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,749 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in CSX were worth $1,379,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of CSX during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in CSX in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. lifted its stake in CSX by 205.7% in the fourth quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 1,070 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 720 shares during the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in CSX in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in CSX during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. 73.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of CSX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $34.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on CSX from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of CSX from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $37.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of CSX in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.75.

CSX Price Performance

CSX stock opened at $29.11 on Friday. CSX Co. has a 12-month low of $28.98 and a 12-month high of $37.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $31.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.86 billion, a PE ratio of 16.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.02). CSX had a return on equity of 28.15% and a net margin of 23.95%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CSX Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.05%.

CSX 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.