Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 1,243 Shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CSX. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of CSX by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,235 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 1,648 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in CSX by 7.3% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 190,890 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,874,000 after acquiring an additional 13,055 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in CSX by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 11,820 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 720 shares during the period. Strs Ohio raised its position in shares of CSX by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 608,021 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $18,696,000 after acquiring an additional 29,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in shares of CSX by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 61,034 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,877,000 after acquiring an additional 2,068 shares in the last quarter. 73.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CSX Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CSX opened at $33.96 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $66.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.15. CSX Co. has a fifty-two week low of $29.03 and a fifty-two week high of $40.12. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.64.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The transportation company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.01. CSX had a return on equity of 29.58% and a net margin of 24.75%. The company had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.48 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CSX Co. will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. This is an increase from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. CSX’s payout ratio is currently 26.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CSX shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on CSX from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of CSX from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of CSX from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.00.

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.