Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Takes Position in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 127,772 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,123,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp increased its stake in CSX by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 82,250,713 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,840,117,000 after buying an additional 455,258 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in CSX by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,906,826 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,407,087,000 after buying an additional 190,346 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in CSX by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,956,467 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $805,345,000 after buying an additional 299,536 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in CSX by 40.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 23,350,087 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $753,507,000 after buying an additional 6,730,316 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in CSX by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,612,862 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $539,112,000 after buying an additional 1,447,651 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

CSX Trading Down 0.2 %

CSX stock opened at $30.26 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $32.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.91, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.25. CSX Co. has a 52-week low of $28.98 and a 52-week high of $38.03.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.42 EPS 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that CSX Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. This is an increase from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. CSX’s payout ratio is 29.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of CSX from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of CSX in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $34.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.00.

About CSX

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.