Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) Rating Increased to Equal Weight at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has $200.00 target price on the transportation company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $165.00.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $205.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $167.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $209.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Argus raised shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $192.88.

Old Dominion Freight Line Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ ODFL opened at $198.93 on Tuesday. Old Dominion Freight Line has a one year low of $126.01 and a one year high of $221.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.46 billion, a PE ratio of 41.19, a PEG ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $192.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $164.40.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The transportation company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. Old Dominion Freight Line had a return on equity of 24.03% and a net margin of 18.62%.The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th were paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. This is a boost from Old Dominion Freight Line’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Old Dominion Freight Line’s dividend payout ratio is 24.02%.

Insider Activity at Old Dominion Freight Line

In related news, Director Bradley R. Gabosch sold 3,134 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,190,977.06. This represents a 21.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Earl E. Congdon sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.13, for a total value of $4,903,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,162,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $424,055,222.69. The trade was a 1.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 80,134 shares of company stock worth $15,640,132. 10.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ODFL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Old Dominion Freight Line in the fourth quarter worth about $444,983,000. Boston Partners acquired a new position in Old Dominion Freight Line in the third quarter worth about $292,599,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Old Dominion Freight Line by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,223,960 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,230,318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,761,511 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in Old Dominion Freight Line by 637.5% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,576,470 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $221,935,000 after purchasing an additional 1,362,697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Old Dominion Freight Line in the fourth quarter worth about $188,651,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.