Kitching Partners LLC Takes Position in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Kitching Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 10,726 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $359,000. CSX comprises about 0.7% of Kitching Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its stake in shares of CSX by 149.1% during the second quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 17,208 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $575,000 after buying an additional 10,301 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC grew its stake in CSX by 559.7% in the first quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 58,779 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,179,000 after purchasing an additional 49,869 shares in the last quarter. PFG Advisors grew its stake in CSX by 2.1% in the first quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 18,880 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $700,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Partners Group Holding AG grew its stake in CSX by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Partners Group Holding AG now owns 704,544 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $24,427,000 after purchasing an additional 149,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its stake in CSX by 718.9% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 287,062 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,952,000 after purchasing an additional 252,006 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

CSX Stock Performance

CSX opened at $34.53 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $67.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $33.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.23. CSX Co. has a 52-week low of $29.03 and a 52-week high of $40.12.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 24.52% and a return on equity of 29.11%. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. CSX’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CSX Co. will post 1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. CSX’s payout ratio is 26.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. 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 cut CSX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on CSX in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Susquehanna upped their target price on CSX from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on CSX from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.93.

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.