Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) Chairman David Congdon Sells 52,000 Shares

Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL) Chairman David Congdon sold 52,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.77, for a total value of $10,128,040.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 712,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $138,832,056. This trade represents a 6.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Old Dominion Freight Line Trading Down 3.7%

ODFL traded down $7.51 on Monday, reaching $193.88. The stock had a trading volume of 1,280,325 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,385,270. The company has a market capitalization of $40.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.05 and a beta of 1.28. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $126.01 and a fifty-two week high of $208.74. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $175.17 and a 200-day moving average of $154.38.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The transportation company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. Old Dominion Freight Line had a return on equity of 24.03% and a net margin of 18.62%.The company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. will post 5.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Old Dominion Freight Line Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. Old Dominion Freight Line’s payout ratio is presently 24.02%.

Institutional Trading of Old Dominion Freight Line

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line by 2.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,252,921 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,273,546,000 after buying an additional 494,674 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings 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 worth $2,230,318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,761,511 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,746,286 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,214,618,000 after acquiring an additional 70,736 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised 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 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 purchasing an additional 2,044,434 shares in the last quarter. 77.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ODFL. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $180.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Wolfe Research set a $138.00 target price on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $160.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $209.00 price objective (up from $190.00) on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $216.00 price objective (up from $196.00) on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $189.88.

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.