Candlestick Capital Management LP Acquires New Stake in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Candlestick Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 1,551,707 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,074,000. CSX accounts for about 1.2% of Candlestick Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in CSX by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 117,579 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,794,000 after purchasing an additional 15,029 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in CSX by 180.7% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 72,197 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,330,000 after purchasing an additional 46,473 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in CSX in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,084,000. Carnegie Investment Counsel lifted its stake in CSX by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 612,051 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $19,751,000 after purchasing an additional 8,474 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waycross Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of CSX by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Waycross Partners LLC now owns 619,471 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $19,990,000 after acquiring an additional 40,611 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

CSX Stock Performance

CSX stock opened at $27.84 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $29.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 0.86. CSX Co. has a fifty-two week low of $26.22 and a fifty-two week high of $37.10. The company has a market capitalization of $52.30 billion, a PE ratio of 15.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.23.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The transportation company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $3.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. CSX had a return on equity of 28.15% and a net margin of 23.95%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that CSX Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CSX. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on CSX from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on CSX from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group dropped their target price on CSX from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on CSX from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.95.

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.