Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stock Position in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX - Free Report) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,315,156 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 33,387 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of CSX worth $74,710,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CSX. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lifted its holdings in CSX by 177.8% during the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 750 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC bought a new stake in CSX in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in CSX during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Addison Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of CSX by 348.5% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the period. Finally, Center for Financial Planning Inc. raised its holdings in CSX by 205.7% during the fourth quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 1,070 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 720 shares during the last quarter. 73.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on CSX shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on CSX from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $38.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $37.00 target price (down previously from $38.00) on shares of CSX in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup reduced their target price on CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on CSX from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CSX presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.16.

CSX Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CSX traded down $0.16 on Friday, hitting $32.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 23,611,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,876,070. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.77. The company has a market capitalization of $62.29 billion, a PE ratio of 18.04, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.23. CSX Co. has a 1 year low of $31.43 and a 1 year high of $40.12.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX - Get Free Report) last issued 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 forecast that CSX Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. This is a positive change from CSX's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. CSX's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.82%.

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.