Howard Capital Management Inc. Grows Position in Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL)

Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,483 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line were worth $967,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in Old Dominion Freight Line during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,741,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line during the 4th quarter valued at $128,221,000. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in Old Dominion Freight Line by 77.7% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 98,061 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $19,479,000 after purchasing an additional 42,880 shares during the period. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in Old Dominion Freight Line in the 4th quarter valued at $600,000. Finally, Reliant Investment Management LLC raised its position in Old Dominion Freight Line by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Reliant Investment Management LLC now owns 21,850 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,854,000 after purchasing an additional 2,060 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ODFL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their target price on Old Dominion Freight Line from $237.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $199.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Old Dominion Freight Line has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $203.33.

Old Dominion Freight Line Stock Performance

Old Dominion Freight Line stock opened at $180.40 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.33. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. has a 12 month low of $165.49 and a 12 month high of $233.26. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $188.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $197.84. The company has a market cap of $38.52 billion, a PE ratio of 32.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.05.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The transportation company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.06. Old Dominion Freight Line had a return on equity of 28.02% and a net margin of 20.40%. Research analysts expect that Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. will post 5.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Old Dominion Freight Line Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This is a boost from Old Dominion Freight Line’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Old Dominion Freight Line’s payout ratio is 18.98%.

About Old Dominion Freight Line

Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc operates as a less-than-truckload motor carrier in the United States and North America. The company offers regional, inter-regional, and national less-than-truckload services, as well as expedited transportation. It also provides various value-added services, including container drayage, truckload brokerage, and supply chain consulting.