Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $241.00 price objective (up from $224.00) on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a report on Monday, July 13th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Old Dominion Freight Line from $224.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $227.00 price target on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $245.00 price target (up from $235.00) on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $226.55.

Old Dominion Freight Line Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ODFL opened at $198.63 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.19 billion, a PE ratio of 38.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 1.18. Old Dominion Freight Line has a 52-week low of $126.01 and a 52-week high of $252.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $217.58 and a 200 day moving average of $210.62.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.14. Old Dominion Freight Line had a return on equity of 24.87% and a net margin of 19.44%.The business had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.27 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Old Dominion Freight Line will post 5.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Old Dominion Freight Line

In related news, SVP Cecil E. Jr. Overbey sold 19,952 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.39, for a total transaction of $3,958,277.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 22,746 shares in the company, valued at $4,512,578.94. This trade represents a 46.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 8.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Old Dominion Freight Line

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 21,008.4% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 63,865,160 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $13,833,194,000 after purchasing an additional 63,562,602 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Old Dominion Freight Line during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,416,007,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Old Dominion Freight Line by 14.1% during 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 buying an additional 1,761,511 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Old Dominion Freight Line by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,746,286 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,214,618,000 after buying an additional 70,736 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners grew its holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line by 98.4% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,122,696 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $648,186,000 after acquiring an additional 2,044,434 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.82% of the company’s stock.

Old Dominion Freight Line Company 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.