Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Sells 23,252 Shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX - Free Report) by 74.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,122 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 23,252 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in CSX were worth $280,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of CSX. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of CSX in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of CSX in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in CSX during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in CSX during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in CSX during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 73.57% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on CSX from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on CSX from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on CSX from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on CSX from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CSX presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $38.78.

CSX Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CSX traded down $0.50 during trading on Friday, hitting $35.13. 10,597,892 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,734,151. CSX Co. has a 1-year low of $30.86 and a 1-year high of $40.12. The company has a market capitalization of $67.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.19. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $34.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.39.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The transportation company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $3.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.68 billion. CSX had a net margin of 24.77% and a return on equity of 28.92%. CSX's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that CSX Co. will post 1.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. CSX's dividend payout ratio is 25.81%.

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.