Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) Shares Down 7.8% – What’s Next?

Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL)’s share price traded down 7.8% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $194.01 and last traded at $194.24. 765,663 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 2,315,134 shares. The stock had previously closed at $210.68.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $216.00 target price (up from $196.00) on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Old Dominion Freight Line from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 25th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $232.00 price target on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a report on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Old Dominion Freight Line from $167.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research report on Wednesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $190.50.

Old Dominion Freight Line Stock Down 8.6%

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $183.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $157.72. The stock has a market cap of $40.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.86, a PEG ratio of 10.77 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Old Dominion Freight Line Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Old Dominion Freight Line’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. Old Dominion Freight Line’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.02%.

Insider Activity at Old Dominion Freight Line

In related news, Director Bradley R. Gabosch sold 3,134 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.27, for a total transaction of $608,842.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,278 shares in the company, valued at $2,190,977.06. This represents a 21.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Earl E. Congdon sold 25,000 shares of Old Dominion Freight Line stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.13, for a total value of $4,903,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,162,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $424,055,222.69. This represents a 1.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 80,134 shares of company stock worth $15,640,132 in the last 90 days. 10.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Old Dominion Freight Line

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Old Dominion Freight Line in the 4th quarter valued at $444,983,000. Boston Partners bought a new stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in the third quarter valued at about $292,599,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,223,960 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,230,318,000 after buying an additional 1,761,511 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in Old Dominion Freight Line by 637.5% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,576,470 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $221,935,000 after buying an additional 1,362,697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new position in Old Dominion Freight Line during the fourth quarter valued at about $188,651,000. Institutional investors own 77.82% of the company’s stock.

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.