Landstar System (NASDAQ:LSTR) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Landstar System (NASDAQ:LSTR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on LSTR. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Landstar System in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Landstar System from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Janney Montgomery Scott set a $182.00 price target on Landstar System in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Landstar System from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Landstar System from $198.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $196.00.

Landstar System Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ LSTR opened at $180.03 on Friday. Landstar System has a 1-year low of $119.32 and a 1-year high of $228.46. The company has a 50-day moving average of $195.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $181.91. The company has a market cap of $6.11 billion, a PE ratio of 46.64 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Landstar System (NASDAQ:LSTR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Landstar System had a net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 20.84%. Landstar System’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Landstar System will post 5.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Landstar System Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from Landstar System’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 18th. Landstar System’s payout ratio is presently 45.60%.

Insider Transactions at Landstar System

In related news, Director Diana M. Murphy sold 11,246 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.28, for a total value of $2,488,514.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,171,791.84. This represents a 37.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO James P. Todd sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.17, for a total value of $261,804.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 15,122 shares in the company, valued at $3,299,166.74. The trade was a 7.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Landstar System

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Landstar System by 20,011.2% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 8,234,347 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,702,945,000 after acquiring an additional 8,193,403 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Landstar System in the second quarter valued at approximately $698,683,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Landstar System by 185.5% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 987,087 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $141,844,000 after purchasing an additional 641,319 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Landstar System by 910.2% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 541,880 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $77,868,000 after purchasing an additional 488,238 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Landstar System by 5,643.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 386,758 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $55,577,000 after purchasing an additional 380,024 shares during the period. 97.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Landstar System Company Profile

Landstar System, Inc provides integrated transportation management solutions through a network of independent agents and third-party capacity providers. The company specializes in truckload brokerage, intermodal, air and ocean freight, expedited and heavy-haul services, along with value-added offerings such as cargo insurance, customs brokerage and supply chain management. Landstar’s proprietary technology platform enables real-time load matching, shipment tracking and data analytics to optimize fleet utilization and improve customer service.

Founded in 1968 and headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, Landstar pioneered an asset-light brokerage model that has evolved into a global logistics operation.