Highland Capital Management LLC Sells 83,711 Shares of CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX)

Highland Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) by 24.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 259,378 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 83,711 shares during the period. CSX Corporation accounts for 1.1% of Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in CSX Corporation were worth $14,152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CSX. Brahman Capital Corp. acquired a new stake in CSX Corporation during the first quarter valued at about $257,229,000. Blue Ridge Capital L.L.C. acquired a new stake in CSX Corporation during the first quarter valued at about $225,162,000. Janus Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in CSX Corporation by 32.9% in the first quarter. Janus Capital Management LLC now owns 16,620,538 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $773,686,000 after buying an additional 4,114,395 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial For Lutherans boosted its stake in CSX Corporation by 252.3% in the first quarter. Thrivent Financial For Lutherans now owns 4,769,577 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $222,004,000 after buying an additional 3,415,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OZ Management LP boosted its stake in CSX Corporation by 266.3% in the first quarter. OZ Management LP now owns 4,094,353 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $190,592,000 after buying an additional 2,976,497 shares in the last quarter. 69.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shares of CSX Corporation (NASDAQ CSX) traded down 2.80% during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $50.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 10,295,425 shares. CSX Corporation has a one year low of $27.46 and a one year high of $55.48. The company has a market capitalization of $46.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.52 and a beta of 1.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $53.86 and its 200-day moving average is $49.10. CSX Corporation also was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors purchased 17,617 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 574% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,612 put options.

CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 18th. The transportation company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.85 billion. CSX Corporation had a return on equity of 16.90% and a net margin of 15.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.47 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that CSX Corporation will post $2.30 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Corporation announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, April 20th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the transportation company to purchase up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 31st will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 29th. CSX Corporation’s payout ratio is currently 41.88%.

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Several research firms have weighed in on CSX. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on CSX Corporation from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of CSX Corporation in a report on Friday, June 9th. Cowen and Company restated a “market perform” rating and set a $54.00 price target (up previously from $48.00) on shares of CSX Corporation in a report on Sunday, April 23rd. Loop Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of CSX Corporation in a report on Saturday, March 25th. Finally, Barclays PLC raised their price target on CSX Corporation from $4.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $53.05.

In related news, CEO E Hunter Harrison acquired 300,000 shares of CSX Corporation stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $50.20 per share, for a total transaction of $15,060,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 300,000 shares in the company, valued at $15,060,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CSX Corporation Company Profile

CSX Corporation is a transportation company. The Company provides rail-based freight transportation services, including traditional rail service and transport of intermodal containers and trailers, as well as other transportation services, such as rail-to-truck transfers and bulk commodity operations.

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