Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Raises Stock Holdings in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 15.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 366,626 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 50,073 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in CSX were worth $12,272,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in CSX in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CSX during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of CSX during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of CSX during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in CSX in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 73.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CSX Price Performance

CSX stock opened at $34.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $68.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.42. CSX Co. has a 1 year low of $29.03 and a 1 year high of $40.12.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The transportation company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. CSX had a return on equity of 29.11% and a net margin of 24.52%. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CSX Co. will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on CSX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on CSX from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Bank of America lowered CSX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, July 8th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of CSX in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of CSX from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.80.

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.