Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Boosts Position in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. raised its position in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,743 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 706 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in CSX were worth $1,343,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CSX. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in CSX during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of CSX during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in CSX in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of CSX by 228.4% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 995 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the period. Finally, Avion Wealth grew its stake in shares of CSX by 450.5% in the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 1,002 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. 73.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CSX Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CSX traded up $0.26 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $34.22. 8,091,831 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,195,878. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. CSX Co. has a 52 week low of $29.03 and a 52 week high of $40.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.90 billion, a PE ratio of 18.66, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s 50 day moving average is $36.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.64.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The transportation company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.66 billion. CSX had a net margin of 24.75% and a return on equity of 29.58%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.48 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CSX Co. will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. This is a boost from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is 26.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on CSX. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of CSX from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of CSX from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of CSX from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of CSX from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered CSX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.00.

CSX Profile

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.