CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) Shares Bought by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,771 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,243 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in CSX were worth $512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSX. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in CSX during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in CSX during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in CSX by 228.4% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 995 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in CSX in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Avion Wealth raised its stake in shares of CSX by 450.5% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 1,002 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on CSX from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of CSX from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective 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. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of CSX in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of CSX from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.00.

CSX Stock Performance

CSX opened at $33.96 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.64. The firm has a market cap of $66.39 billion, a PE ratio of 18.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.19. 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 fifty-two week low of $29.03 and a fifty-two week high of $40.12.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The transportation company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that CSX Co. will post 1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This is an increase from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. CSX’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.37%.

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.