Handelsbanken Fonder AB Trims Stake in Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. $ODFL

Handelsbanken Fonder AB reduced its stake in Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL) by 3.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 108,201 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 3,451 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line were worth $15,233,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Old Dominion Freight Line by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 396,862 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $55,870,000 after acquiring an additional 20,585 shares in the last quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,010,000. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 14.7% during the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 819,704 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $115,398,000 after purchasing an additional 105,135 shares in the last quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. grew its stake in Old Dominion Freight Line by 21.0% in the third quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. now owns 4,988 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $702,000 after purchasing an additional 867 shares during the period. Finally, AXQ Capital LP purchased a new stake in Old Dominion Freight Line in the third quarter worth $880,000. 77.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $216.00 price objective (up from $196.00) on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $205.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $160.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Old Dominion Freight Line from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $189.88.

Old Dominion Freight Line Trading Up 2.4%

ODFL stock opened at $203.05 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $179.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.11. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. has a 12-month low of $126.01 and a 12-month high of $208.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.32 billion, a PE ratio of 42.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.13 and a beta of 1.28.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.30 billion. Old Dominion Freight Line had a return on equity of 24.03% and a net margin of 18.62%.The company’s revenue was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a $0.29 dividend. This is a positive change from Old Dominion Freight Line’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Old Dominion Freight Line’s payout ratio is presently 23.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Old Dominion Freight Line

In other Old Dominion Freight Line news, insider Earl E. Congdon sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.13, for a total transaction of $4,903,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 2,162,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $424,055,222.69. This represents a 1.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bradley R. Gabosch sold 3,134 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.27, for a total transaction of $608,842.18. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,190,977.06. The trade was a 21.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 80,134 shares of company stock worth $15,640,132. Company insiders own 10.00% of the company’s stock.

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.