Brokerages Set Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL) Price Target at $226.55

Shares of Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-five research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $226.5455.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ODFL. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $235.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up from $232.00) on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut their price objective on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $176.00 to $172.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Old Dominion Freight Line

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Old Dominion Freight Line by 14.1% during the 4th 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 lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 70,736 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $648,186,000 after buying an additional 2,044,434 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,680,719 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $577,137,000 after buying an additional 365,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,314,157 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $519,660,000 after buying an additional 639,769 shares during the last quarter. 77.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Old Dominion Freight Line Stock Performance

Old Dominion Freight Line stock opened at $215.45 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.51, a PEG ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 1.18. Old Dominion Freight Line has a 52-week low of $126.01 and a 52-week high of $252.03. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $226.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $207.67.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) last released 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. Old Dominion Freight Line had a net margin of 19.44% and a return on equity of 24.87%. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.27 EPS. Old Dominion Freight Line’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Old Dominion Freight Line will post 5.78 EPS for the current year.

Old Dominion Freight Line Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 2nd. Old Dominion Freight Line’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.35%.

Old Dominion Freight Line Company Profile

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.