Quantbot Technologies LP Lowers Stake in Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. $ODFL

Quantbot Technologies LP cut its holdings in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL) by 23.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 43,787 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 13,394 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line were worth $6,164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line by 2.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,252,921 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,273,546,000 after purchasing an additional 494,674 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,544,588 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $499,007,000 after buying an additional 622,275 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $371,961,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,933,480 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $313,802,000 after buying an additional 200,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Old Dominion Freight Line by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,549,766 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $251,046,000 after acquiring an additional 137,068 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on ODFL. Argus upgraded shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $216.00 price target (up from $196.00) on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Old Dominion Freight Line from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Old Dominion Freight Line currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $189.88.

Old Dominion Freight Line Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ ODFL opened at $203.05 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $42.32 billion, a PE ratio of 42.04, a P/E/G ratio of 10.13 and a beta of 1.28. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. has a 12-month low of $126.01 and a 12-month high of $208.74. The company has a 50-day moving average of $179.12 and a 200 day moving average of $156.11.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The transportation company reported $1.09 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.30 billion. Old Dominion Freight Line had a return on equity of 24.03% and a net margin of 18.62%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. will post 5.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Old Dominion Freight Line Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Old Dominion Freight Line’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. Old Dominion Freight Line’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Old Dominion Freight Line

In related news, Director Bradley R. Gabosch sold 3,134 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.27, for a total value of $608,842.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,278 shares of the company’s stock, 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 can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman David S. Congdon sold 52,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.77, for a total transaction of $10,128,040.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 712,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $138,832,056. The trade was a 6.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 80,134 shares of company stock worth $15,640,132 in the last three months. 10.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.