Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) Upgraded by Argus to “Buy” Rating

Argus upgraded shares of Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. Argus currently has $220.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on ODFL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Old Dominion Freight Line from $150.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $202.00 price target (up from $164.00) on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 25th. Barclays set a $185.00 target price on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $167.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $189.88.

Old Dominion Freight Line Stock Down 4.6%

ODFL stock opened at $185.51 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $38.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.41, a PEG ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $152.49. Old Dominion Freight Line has a 52 week low of $126.01 and a 52 week high of $209.61.

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 firm had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. Old Dominion Freight Line had a return on equity of 24.03% and a net margin of 18.62%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Old Dominion Freight Line will post 5.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Old Dominion Freight Line Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is an increase from Old Dominion Freight Line’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is 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 currently 23.19%.

Institutional Trading of Old Dominion Freight Line

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its stake in Old Dominion Freight Line by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 645 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,181 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $812,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 3,883 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $609,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 0.7% during the second quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 10,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,665,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership grew its stake in Old Dominion Freight Line by 9.1% in the second quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 818 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.82% of the company’s stock.

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.