Landstar System (NASDAQ:LSTR) Trading 4.4% Higher – Should You Buy?

Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR)’s share price traded up 4.4% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $173.54 and last traded at $175.3870. 59,043 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 529,511 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.95.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Landstar System from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $193.00 price target on shares of Landstar System in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Landstar System from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Landstar System from $147.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Landstar System in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Landstar System has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $179.36.

Landstar System Stock Up 3.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 1.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.18 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $165.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $151.13.

Landstar System (NASDAQ:LSTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. Landstar System had a net margin of 2.62% and a return on equity of 19.49%. Landstar System’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Landstar System, Inc. will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Landstar System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 19th. Landstar System’s payout ratio is currently 44.20%.

Landstar System announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase 1,115,195,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the transportation company to purchase up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Landstar System

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lombard Odier Asset Management USA Corp bought a new stake in Landstar System in the 1st quarter valued at $320,000. Waverly Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Landstar System in the 1st quarter valued at $270,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in Landstar System in the 1st quarter valued at $8,301,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Landstar System by 42.8% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 80,440 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $12,895,000 after buying an additional 24,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morningstar Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Landstar System in the 1st quarter worth $296,000. 97.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Landstar System Company Profile

Landstar System, Inc provides integrated transportation management solutions through a network of independent agents and third-party capacity providers. The company specializes in truckload brokerage, intermodal, air and ocean freight, expedited and heavy-haul services, along with value-added offerings such as cargo insurance, customs brokerage and supply chain management. Landstar’s proprietary technology platform enables real-time load matching, shipment tracking and data analytics to optimize fleet utilization and improve customer service.

Founded in 1968 and headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, Landstar pioneered an asset-light brokerage model that has evolved into a global logistics operation.