South Dakota Investment Council Purchases 260,945 Shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

South Dakota Investment Council grew its stake in shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX - Free Report) by 264.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 359,629 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 260,945 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council's holdings in CSX were worth $11,605,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CSX. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of CSX during the 4th quarter worth $1,309,000. Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of CSX by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 57,852 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,867,000 after buying an additional 1,720 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of CSX by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 28,948 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $934,000 after buying an additional 2,021 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp lifted its position in shares of CSX by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 49,504 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,597,000 after buying an additional 1,817 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Redmond Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CSX during the 4th quarter worth $397,000. 73.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on CSX shares. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $38.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on CSX from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of CSX in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on CSX from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CSX has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.16.

CSX Trading Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ CSX traded down $0.39 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $31.92. 5,994,318 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,117,011. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.77. CSX Co. has a 1-year low of $31.43 and a 1-year high of $38.70. The firm has a market cap of $61.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.84, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.02). CSX had a return on equity of 28.15% and a net margin of 23.95%. On average, equities analysts forecast that CSX Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. This is a boost from CSX's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. CSX's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.05%.

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.