Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Position in The ODP Co. (NASDAQ:ODP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of The ODP Co. (NASDAQ:ODP) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 243,639 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 2,594 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.61% of ODP worth $10,959,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of ODP by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,052 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of ODP by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,350 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of ODP by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 25,192 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,133,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of ODP by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,601 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ODP by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 6,326 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 476 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.56% of the company’s stock.

ODP Stock Performance

Shares of ODP stock opened at $49.23 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $47.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.73. The stock has a market cap of $1.87 billion, a PE ratio of 11.48 and a beta of 1.82. The ODP Co. has a 1 year low of $34.55 and a 1 year high of $53.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.98.

ODP (NASDAQ:ODP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 9th. The specialty retailer reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.98 billion. ODP had a return on equity of 17.82% and a net margin of 2.29%. ODP’s revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that The ODP Co. will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Gerry P. Smith sold 11,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.04, for a total value of $591,973.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 922,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,174,059.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP John Gannfors sold 36,965 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.17, for a total transaction of $1,669,709.05. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 66,767 shares in the company, valued at $3,015,865.39. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gerry P. Smith sold 11,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.04, for a total value of $591,973.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 922,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,174,059.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 122,579 shares of company stock valued at $5,920,997. 3.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. B. Riley raised their price target on ODP from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 10th. StockNews.com cut ODP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. Finally, Noble Financial assumed coverage on ODP in a report on Wednesday, August 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company.

About ODP

The ODP Corporation provides business services and supplies, products, and digital workplace technology solutions for small, medium, and enterprise businesses in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The company operates through four divisions: ODP Business Solutions, Office Depot, Veyer, and Varis.