Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Buys Shares of 369,364 CSX Corporation $CSX

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co purchased a new stake in shares of CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 369,364 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,556,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of CSX in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its holdings in CSX by 58.0% in the 2nd quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 681 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in CSX during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in CSX during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in CSX by 97.4% during the 1st quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 829 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the period. 73.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other CSX news, Director John J. Zillmer sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.45, for a total transaction of $464,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 353,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,430,015.30. This represents a 2.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevin S. Boone sold 136,708 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.70, for a total value of $6,384,263.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 208,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,742,647.40. The trade was a 39.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 189,708 shares of company stock worth $9,132,304 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on CSX shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of CSX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of CSX from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Argus set a $56.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a research note on Friday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $52.00 price objective (up from $49.00) on shares of CSX in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $59.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a report on Friday, July 24th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CSX currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.31.

CSX Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CSX opened at $51.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.82. CSX Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $31.80 and a fifty-two week high of $53.60. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.15. The company has a market capitalization of $95.57 billion, a PE ratio of 29.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.21.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.02. CSX had a net margin of 22.21% and a return on equity of 24.98%. The firm had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.44 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that CSX Corporation will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

CSX Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.37%.

About CSX

CSX Corporation is a leading North American transportation company that provides rail-based freight services and supply-chain solutions. Its operating subsidiary, CSX Transportation, moves a wide range of goods for customers across multiple industries, using a combination of long-haul rail service, intermodal operations and terminal and yard services. The company focuses on delivering efficient, reliable freight transportation between major production centers, consumption markets and port gateways.

CSX’s freight portfolio includes intermodal containers and trailers, bulk commodities, industrial products and specialized unit trains.