Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) Stock Price

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) had its target price upped by Morgan Stanley from $209.00 to $215.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the transportation company’s stock.

ODFL has been the topic of several other research reports. Wolfe Research set a $138.00 target price on Old Dominion Freight Line in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Old Dominion Freight Line from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 25th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $232.00 target price on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their target price on Old Dominion Freight Line from $114.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Old Dominion Freight Line from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $191.38.

Old Dominion Freight Line Price Performance

ODFL stock opened at $202.18 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.86, a P/E/G ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50-day moving average is $192.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.99. Old Dominion Freight Line has a 1 year low of $126.01 and a 1 year high of $221.63.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The transportation company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. Old Dominion Freight Line had a return on equity of 24.03% and a net margin of 18.62%.Old Dominion Freight Line’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Old Dominion Freight Line will post 5.68 EPS for the current year.

Old Dominion Freight Line Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were paid a $0.29 dividend. This is an increase from Old Dominion Freight Line’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Old Dominion Freight Line’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Old Dominion Freight Line

In other Old Dominion Freight Line news, Director Bradley R. Gabosch sold 3,134 shares of Old Dominion Freight Line stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.27, for a total value of $608,842.18. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,190,977.06. This trade represents a 21.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman David S. Congdon sold 52,000 shares of Old Dominion Freight Line stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.77, for a total value of $10,128,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 712,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $138,832,056. This trade represents a 6.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 80,134 shares of company stock worth $15,640,132. 10.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Old Dominion Freight Line

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ODFL. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,559 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 134.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,213 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,690,000 after purchasing an additional 5,866 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 29.1% in the second quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 2,517 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $409,000 after purchasing an additional 567 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 10.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,082 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in the second quarter valued at $7,478,000. 77.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Old Dominion Freight Line

Old Dominion Freight Line is a U.S.-based less-than-truckload (LTL) transportation company that provides regional, inter-regional and national freight services. Founded in 1934 and headquartered in Thomasville, North Carolina, the company has grown from a regional carrier into a national freight network, operating a broad system of service centers and terminals to move shipments for shippers of varying sizes and industries.

The company’s core business is LTL trucking, offering scheduled pickup and delivery for palletized freight that does not require a full truckload.