Brokerages Set Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL) PT at $155.58

Shares of Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-seven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have assigned a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $155.5833.

ODFL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Old Dominion Freight Line from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised Old Dominion Freight Line from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Old Dominion Freight Line from $186.00 to $181.00 in a report on Thursday, October 30th.

Old Dominion Freight Line Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ ODFL opened at $158.62 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $149.34. Old Dominion Freight Line has a 52 week low of $126.01 and a 52 week high of $209.61. The stock has a market cap of $33.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.92, a PEG ratio of 8.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.20.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.06. Old Dominion Freight Line had a net margin of 18.97% and a return on equity of 24.92%. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Old Dominion Freight Line will post 5.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Old Dominion Freight Line Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 3rd. Old Dominion Freight Line’s payout ratio is presently 22.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Old Dominion Freight Line during the 2nd quarter worth $371,961,000. Boston Partners bought a new position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in the third quarter worth about $292,599,000. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 637.5% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,576,470 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $221,935,000 after purchasing an additional 1,362,697 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,366,843 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $614,764,000 after purchasing an additional 776,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Old Dominion Freight Line by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,544,588 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $499,007,000 after purchasing an additional 622,275 shares during the period. 77.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.