Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Friday.

ODFL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on Old Dominion Freight Line from $201.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $204.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $210.00 to $205.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Old Dominion Freight Line from $176.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned 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, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $203.33.

Old Dominion Freight Line Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ ODFL opened at $197.20 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $190.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $197.70. The company has a market capitalization of $42.10 billion, a PE ratio of 34.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 1.05. Old Dominion Freight Line has a 12-month low of $165.49 and a 12-month high of $233.26. 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 (NASDAQ:ODFL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The transportation company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.06. Old Dominion Freight Line had a return on equity of 29.40% and a net margin of 21.03%. Equities analysts anticipate that Old Dominion Freight Line will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Old Dominion Freight Line Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This is an increase from Old Dominion Freight Line’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. Old Dominion Freight Line’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 109.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,435,228 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $285,094,000 after buying an additional 750,073 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in Old Dominion Freight Line in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $128,221,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 19,764.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 685,308 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $136,130,000 after purchasing an additional 681,858 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line during the fourth quarter worth $114,449,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 74.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,022,812 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $207,068,000 after purchasing an additional 437,700 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.82% of the company’s stock.

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.