Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) Given New $232.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) had its price objective upped by Stifel Nicolaus from $228.00 to $232.00 in a report published on Thursday morning,MarketScreener reports.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Barclays set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Zacks Research raised shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Evercore set a $219.00 price target on Old Dominion Freight Line in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective (up from $218.00) on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research report on Thursday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $203.96.

Old Dominion Freight Line Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of Old Dominion Freight Line stock traded down $3.01 on Thursday, reaching $209.43. 189,288 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,245,126. Old Dominion Freight Line has a twelve month low of $126.01 and a twelve month high of $233.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.76, a PEG ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $201.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $172.87.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The transportation company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.09. Old Dominion Freight Line had a net margin of 18.46% and a return on equity of 23.42%. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. Old Dominion Freight Line’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Old Dominion Freight Line will post 5.15 EPS for the current year.

Old Dominion Freight Line Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. This is an increase from Old Dominion Freight Line’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Old Dominion Freight Line’s payout ratio is currently 24.27%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Bradley R. Gabosch sold 3,134 shares of Old Dominion Freight Line stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director directly owned 11,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,190,977.06. The trade was a 21.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman David S. Congdon sold 52,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.77, for a total value of $10,128,040.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 712,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $138,832,056. The trade was a 6.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 80,134 shares of company stock worth $15,640,132 over the last quarter. 10.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Old Dominion Freight Line

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,252,921 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,273,546,000 after acquiring an additional 494,674 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $2,230,318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,761,511 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,746,286 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,214,618,000 after purchasing an additional 70,736 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 21.6% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,366,843 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $614,764,000 after purchasing an additional 776,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its position in Old Dominion Freight Line by 98.4% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,122,696 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $648,186,000 after buying an additional 2,044,434 shares in the last quarter. 77.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.