Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $180.96, but opened at $173.02. Old Dominion Freight Line shares last traded at $176.3370, with a volume of 304,879 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ODFL. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Old Dominion Freight Line from $240.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Argus upped their price target on Old Dominion Freight Line from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $241.00 price objective (up from $224.00) on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research report on Monday, July 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $227.65.

Old Dominion Freight Line Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $36.53 billion, a PE ratio of 34.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50-day moving average is $209.73 and its 200 day moving average is $209.90.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. Old Dominion Freight Line had a net margin of 19.44% and a return on equity of 24.87%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.27 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. will post 5.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Old Dominion Freight Line Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Old Dominion Freight Line’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Cecil Overbey, Jr. sold 19,952 shares of the company’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 value of $3,958,277.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 22,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,512,578.94. This represents a 46.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 8.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Old Dominion Freight Line

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,416,007,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $444,983,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line during the second quarter valued at approximately $543,289,000. Boston Partners lifted its position in Old Dominion Freight Line by 98.4% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,122,696 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $648,186,000 after purchasing an additional 2,044,434 shares during the period. Finally, Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new position in Old Dominion Freight Line during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $188,651,000. Institutional investors own 77.82% of the company’s stock.

About Old Dominion Freight Line

Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc is a transportation and logistics company that specializes in less-than-truckload (LTL) freight services. The company transports shipments that do not require a full trailer, consolidating freight from multiple customers and providing regional, inter-regional and nationwide service.

Its service offerings include expedited transportation, truckload brokerage, container drayage, warehousing and supply chain consulting. Old Dominion operates a network of service centers and transportation facilities designed to support pickup and delivery, freight handling and distribution throughout the contiguous United States, with additional cross-border service to Canada and Mexico.

Founded in 1934 by Earl and Lillian Congdon, the company is headquartered in Thomasville, North Carolina.