Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Stock Position in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX - Free Report) by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,350,289 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 113,530 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of CSX worth $47,652,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in CSX during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lifted its position in shares of CSX by 177.8% during the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 750 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of CSX during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in CSX in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in CSX in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. 73.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CSX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stephens cut their target price on shares of CSX from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of CSX from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of CSX from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on CSX from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $38.78.

CSX Price Performance

CSX stock traded down $0.85 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $32.08. 15,793,422 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,667,240. 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 Co. has a one year low of $31.74 and a one year high of $40.12. The stock has a market cap of $61.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $34.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.07.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The transportation company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $3.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.68 billion. CSX had a return on equity of 28.92% and a net margin of 24.77%. The business's revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that CSX Co. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. CSX's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.81%.

CSX Profile

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.