Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on ODFL. Wells Fargo & Company raised Old Dominion Freight Line from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $235.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Old Dominion Freight Line from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $245.00 target price (up from $235.00) on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research report on Monday, July 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Old Dominion Freight Line currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $226.55.

Old Dominion Freight Line Price Performance

ODFL stock opened at $212.55 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $226.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $208.51. Old Dominion Freight Line has a fifty-two week low of $126.01 and a fifty-two week high of $252.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.07 billion, a PE ratio of 40.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 1.18.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. Old Dominion Freight Line had a return on equity of 24.87% and a net margin of 19.44%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.27 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Old Dominion Freight Line will post 5.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Old Dominion Freight Line Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 2nd. Old Dominion Freight Line’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.35%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Old Dominion Freight Line

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,559 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line by 134.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,213 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,690,000 after purchasing an additional 5,866 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Old Dominion Freight Line during the second quarter valued at approximately $7,478,000. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Old Dominion Freight Line in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,891,000. Finally, AXA S.A. increased its stake in Old Dominion Freight Line by 1.2% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 20,253 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,287,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. 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.