Palisade Capital Management LP Purchases New Position in CSX Corporation $CSX

Palisade Capital Management LP acquired a new position in CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 17,312 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $823,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in CSX in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of CSX during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of CSX by 58.0% in the 2nd quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 681 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CSX in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in CSX in the second quarter worth $37,000. 73.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CSX Stock Up 0.5%

CSX stock opened at $51.76 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $95.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.72. CSX Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $31.80 and a fifty-two week high of $53.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $49.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.45.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.89 billion. CSX had a net margin of 22.21% and a return on equity of 24.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that CSX Corporation will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CSX news, Director John J. Zillmer sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.45, for a total value of $464,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 353,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,430,015.30. This trade represents a 2.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kevin S. Boone sold 136,708 shares of CSX stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.70, for a total value of $6,384,263.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 208,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,742,647.40. This represents a 39.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 189,708 shares of company stock worth $9,132,304. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on CSX. TD Cowen raised their target price on CSX from $46.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Stephens started coverage on CSX in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $57.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial set a $46.00 price objective on CSX in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded CSX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on CSX from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.31.

CSX Profile

CSX Corporation is a leading North American transportation company that provides rail-based freight services and supply-chain solutions. Its operating subsidiary, CSX Transportation, moves a wide range of goods for customers across multiple industries, using a combination of long-haul rail service, intermodal operations and terminal and yard services. The company focuses on delivering efficient, reliable freight transportation between major production centers, consumption markets and port gateways.

CSX’s freight portfolio includes intermodal containers and trailers, bulk commodities, industrial products and specialized unit trains.