BNP Paribas Financial Markets Acquires 142,796 Shares of Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. $ODFL

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL) by 31.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 594,065 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 142,796 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line were worth $83,632,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Old Dominion Freight Line during the 2nd quarter valued at about $371,961,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line by 21.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,544,588 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $499,007,000 after purchasing an additional 622,275 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 63.8% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,521,054 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $246,867,000 after purchasing an additional 592,605 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $3,273,546,000 after purchasing an additional 494,674 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Funds Management LTD purchased a new position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line during the third quarter valued at approximately $65,951,000. 77.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on ODFL shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price target on Old Dominion Freight Line from $114.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on Old Dominion Freight Line from $180.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $202.00 target price (up from $164.00) on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird cut Old Dominion Freight Line from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $204.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $217.00 price target on Old Dominion Freight Line in a report on Thursday, February 5th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $191.08.

Insider Activity 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, Chairman David S. Congdon sold 52,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.77, for a total transaction of $10,128,040.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 712,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $138,832,056. The trade was a 6.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 80,134 shares of company stock valued at $15,640,132 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 10.00% of the company’s stock.

Old Dominion Freight Line Stock Down 6.6%

Shares of NASDAQ ODFL opened at $176.24 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $36.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.49, a PEG ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.23. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. has a twelve month low of $126.01 and a twelve month high of $221.63. The company has a 50 day moving average of $186.50 and a 200 day moving average of $159.01.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The transportation company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Old Dominion Freight Line’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. Old Dominion Freight Line’s payout ratio is 24.02%.

Old Dominion Freight Line 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.