Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL) shares reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $249.14 and last traded at $245.9580, with a volume of 547125 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $245.52.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ODFL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $205.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $216.00 price objective on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up from $232.00) on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $228.00 to $232.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Old Dominion Freight Line presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $208.33.

Old Dominion Freight Line Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $208.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $185.09. The company has a market capitalization of $50.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 1.17.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The transportation company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Old Dominion Freight Line had a net margin of 18.46% and a return on equity of 23.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. will post 5.35 EPS for the current year.

Old Dominion Freight Line Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Old Dominion Freight Line’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.27%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Greg C. Gantt sold 22,107 shares of Old Dominion Freight Line stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.52, for a total value of $4,233,932.64. Following the transaction, the director owned 88,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,959,287.52. The trade was a 19.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 10.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Old Dominion Freight Line

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $444,983,000. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $292,599,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 14.1% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 1,761,511 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 637.5% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,576,470 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $221,935,000 after acquiring an additional 1,362,697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $188,651,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.