Short Interest in Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR) Expands By 43.9%

Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 865,900 shares, an increase of 43.9% from the January 15th total of 601,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 280,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Landstar System

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Landstar System in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. HM Payson & Co. bought a new stake in Landstar System in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new stake in Landstar System in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Landstar System in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in Landstar System by 431.3% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 441 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. 97.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Landstar System Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Landstar System stock traded up $2.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $161.80. 260,211 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 339,663. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.31 and a beta of 0.83. Landstar System has a 1-year low of $157.99 and a 1-year high of $196.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $172.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $180.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 2.21.

Landstar System (NASDAQ:LSTR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The transportation company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.04). Landstar System had a return on equity of 19.56% and a net margin of 4.07%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Landstar System will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Landstar System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Landstar System’s payout ratio is currently 26.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LSTR. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Landstar System from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Landstar System from $176.00 to $174.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Landstar System from $184.00 to $177.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Landstar System from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Landstar System from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Landstar System has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $170.40.

Landstar System Company Profile

Landstar System, Inc provides integrated transportation management solutions in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and internationally. It operates through two segments: Transportation Logistics and Insurance. The Transportation Logistics segment offers a range of transportation services, including truckload and less-than-truckload transportation, rail intermodal, air cargo, ocean cargo, expedited ground and air delivery of time-critical freight, heavy-haul/specialized, U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico cross-border, intra-Mexico, intra-Canada, project cargo, and customs brokerage, as well as offers transportation services to other transportation companies, such as third party logistics and less-than-truckload services.