Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. increased its position in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 38,210 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 577 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in CSX were worth $1,319,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in CSX in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in CSX in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in CSX in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in CSX in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in CSX in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. 73.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CSX Stock Performance

Shares of CSX stock opened at $33.87 on Wednesday. CSX Co. has a one year low of $29.03 and a one year high of $40.12. The company’s 50-day moving average is $33.93 and its 200 day moving average is $34.05. The company has a market capitalization of $66.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.16.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The transportation company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.70 billion. CSX had a net margin of 24.52% and a return on equity of 29.11%. CSX’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that CSX Co. will post 1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. CSX’s payout ratio is presently 26.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CSX has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of CSX in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of CSX in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Bank of America lowered shares of CSX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of CSX from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of CSX in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $42.00 price target for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CSX has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.19.

CSX Company 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.