Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on ODFL. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Old Dominion Freight Line from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $235.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $243.00 price target (up from $237.00) on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $245.00 price target (up from $235.00) on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a report on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup raised shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $231.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $228.00 price objective (up from $224.00) on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a report on Thursday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $227.65.

Old Dominion Freight Line Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:ODFL opened at $181.91 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $37.72 billion, a PE ratio of 35.05, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s fifty day moving average is $210.42 and its 200 day moving average is $209.97. Old Dominion Freight Line has a 52 week low of $126.01 and a 52 week high of $252.03.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Old Dominion Freight Line had a return on equity of 24.87% and a net margin of 19.44%.The business’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Old Dominion Freight Line will post 5.78 EPS for the current year.

Old Dominion Freight Line Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 2nd. Old Dominion Freight Line’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Old Dominion Freight Line news, SVP Cecil Overbey, Jr. sold 19,952 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.39, for a total transaction of $3,958,277.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 22,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,512,578.94. This trade represents a 46.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 8.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Old Dominion Freight Line

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ODFL. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 955.4% in the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 75,005 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,761,000 after acquiring an additional 67,898 shares during the last quarter. Summitry LLC raised its position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 218,175 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,210,000 after purchasing an additional 11,223 shares during the last quarter. Partners Group Holding AG boosted its stake in Old Dominion Freight Line by 37.0% in the 4th quarter. Partners Group Holding AG now owns 194,631 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $30,518,000 after purchasing an additional 52,514 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Old Dominion Freight Line by 15,188.0% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 407,885 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $63,956,000 after purchasing an additional 405,217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park National Corp OH purchased a new stake in Old Dominion Freight Line during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,056,000. 77.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Old Dominion Freight Line Company Profile

Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc is a transportation and logistics company that specializes in less-than-truckload (LTL) freight services. The company transports shipments that do not require a full trailer, consolidating freight from multiple customers and providing regional, inter-regional and nationwide service.

Its service offerings include expedited transportation, truckload brokerage, container drayage, warehousing and supply chain consulting. Old Dominion operates a network of service centers and transportation facilities designed to support pickup and delivery, freight handling and distribution throughout the contiguous United States, with additional cross-border service to Canada and Mexico.

Founded in 1934 by Earl and Lillian Congdon, the company is headquartered in Thomasville, North Carolina.