CSX Corporation $CSX Shares Bought by Markel Group Inc.

Markel Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 597,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,000 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc.’s holdings in CSX were worth $27,790,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CSX. Virtue Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of CSX by 1.6% in the third quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 12,545 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $583,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its position in CSX by 7.2% during the second quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 3,142 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $149,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA lifted its holdings in CSX by 0.7% in the third quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 31,606 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,470,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. BLB&B Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in CSX by 0.7% in the third quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 30,452 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,416,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. Finally, PFG Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in CSX by 2.7% in the third quarter. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,309 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $386,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CSX. UBS Group set a $54.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $54.00 target price (up from $48.00) on shares of CSX in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 price target on shares of CSX in a report on Friday, July 24th. Evercore set a $53.00 price target on shares of CSX in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of CSX from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.20.

CSX Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of CSX opened at $50.72 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $93.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.75, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.12. CSX Corporation has a 12 month low of $33.63 and a 12 month high of $53.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $48.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The transportation company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04. CSX had a return on equity of 25.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The business had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that CSX Corporation will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CSX news, Director John Zillmer sold 19,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.24, for a total transaction of $999,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 334,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,125,125.36. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CSX Company Profile

CSX Corporation is a transportation company whose primary business is freight railroading through its CSX Transportation subsidiary. The company operates an extensive rail network across the eastern United States, serving major industrial centers, population hubs, ports and distribution markets.

CSX transports a broad range of products, including chemicals, agricultural and food products, forest products, minerals, metals, automotive goods and other manufactured merchandise. Its services also include intermodal transportation, which combines rail service with trucks and containers, as well as the movement of coal and other bulk commodities.

The company traces its roots to the formation of CSX Corporation in 1980 through the merger of Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries.