Insider Selling: CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) CAO Sells $1,598,700.00 in Stock

CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) CAO Angela Williams sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.29, for a total value of $1,598,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,187.73. This represents a 74.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

CSX Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of CSX stock opened at $50.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $92.98 billion, a PE ratio of 29.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.82. CSX Corporation has a 52-week low of $31.80 and a 52-week high of $53.60.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.02. CSX had a return on equity of 24.98% and a net margin of 22.21%.The firm had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that CSX Corporation will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Dividend Announcement

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 issued 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CSX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of CSX from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Argus raised their price objective on CSX from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 target price on shares of CSX in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded CSX from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on CSX in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $57.00 price target for the company. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.17.

Institutional Trading of CSX

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSX. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its stake in shares of CSX by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 8,282,107 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $300,226,000 after purchasing an additional 98,977 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in CSX by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 423,312 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $15,345,000 after purchasing an additional 18,025 shares during the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY grew its holdings in CSX by 6.8% during the first quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 238,817 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,803,000 after purchasing an additional 15,310 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its holdings in CSX by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 189,288 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,862,000 after purchasing an additional 4,476 shares during the period. Finally, Pinebridge Investments LLC acquired a new position in CSX during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,979,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

CSX Company 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.