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stock has recently surged, and a large investor in the railroad operator just sold a large block of shares.
CSX (ticker: CSX) shares topped the S&P 500 last year, surging 25.4% compared with the 16.3% rise in the index. This year, shares are about even with the 13% rise in the S&P 500.
The company’s first-quarter earnings, reported in April, missed Wall Street expectations, but sales topped estimates. Shares rose after the report. North American rail traffic has grown consistently higher.
Mantle Ridge, an investment vehicle of activist investor Paul C. Hilal, sold 1.9 million CSX shares on April 28 and April 30 for a total of $192.7 million, an average price of $100.79 per share. According to a form that Hilal filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mantle Ridge now owns just under 600,000 CSX shares.
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Hilal, who had pushed CSX to make changes a few years ago, continues to serve as vice chairman of the rail operator.
Mantle Ridge declined to comment on the sale of CSX stock.
After CSX reported first-quarter earnings, Credit Suisse analyst Allison M. Landry wrote that “the pricing environment continues to strengthen.” Landry, who rates CSX at Outperform, sees “strong incremental margins moving forward, especially to the extent we begin to see a
(CNI)/
(CP)–like growth narrative play out at CSX.”
Landry trimmed her earnings estimates through fiscal 2023 but left her $115 target price unchanged.
Inside Scoop is a regular Barron’s feature covering stock transactions by corporate executives and board members—so-called insiders—as well as large shareholders, politicians, and other prominent figures. Due to their insider status, these investors are required to disclose stock trades with the Securities and Exchange Commission or other regulatory groups.
Write to Ed Lin at edward.lin@barrons.com and follow @BarronsEdLin.
