Sowell Financial Services LLC Makes New Investment in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 10,668 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $370,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CSX. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of CSX by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 17,704 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $614,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp raised its position in shares of CSX by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 3,064 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. raised its position in shares of CSX by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 14,672 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of CSX by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 17,967 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $552,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp raised its position in shares of CSX by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 102,289 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,063,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on CSX. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on CSX from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Raymond James upped their price target on CSX from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of CSX in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on CSX in a research report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.06.

CSX Price Performance

Shares of CSX opened at $36.05 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.05. CSX Co. has a one year low of $29.03 and a one year high of $40.12. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $37.16 and its 200-day moving average is $34.13.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.01. CSX had a return on equity of 30.52% and a net margin of 25.35%. The company had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.63 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that CSX Co. will post 1.96 EPS for the current year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. This is a boost from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.09%.

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.