Stifel Nicolaus Issues Positive Forecast for Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) Stock Price

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) had its price target boosted by Stifel Nicolaus from $217.00 to $228.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on ODFL. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Bank of America set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $180.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $195.50.

Old Dominion Freight Line Stock Up 4.1%

NASDAQ:ODFL opened at $213.57 on Thursday. Old Dominion Freight Line has a 12 month low of $126.01 and a 12 month high of $221.63. The firm has a market cap of $44.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50 day moving average is $195.98 and its 200-day moving average is $167.42.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The transportation company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. Old Dominion Freight Line had a net margin of 18.62% and a return on equity of 24.03%. Old Dominion Freight Line’s quarterly revenue was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Old Dominion Freight Line will post 5.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Old Dominion Freight Line Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. This is a positive change from Old Dominion Freight Line’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Old Dominion Freight Line’s payout ratio is 24.02%.

Insider Transactions at Old Dominion Freight Line

In other news, Chairman David S. Congdon sold 52,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.77, for a total transaction of $10,128,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 712,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $138,832,056. This trade represents a 6.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Bradley R. Gabosch sold 3,134 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.27, for a total transaction of $608,842.18. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,190,977.06. The trade was a 21.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 80,134 shares of company stock valued at $15,640,132. Company insiders own 10.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Old Dominion Freight Line

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,559 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 134.9% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in the 2nd quarter valued at $7,478,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,891,000. Finally, AXA S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 20,253 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,287,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. 77.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.