Zacks Research Downgrades Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) to Hold

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

ODFL has been the topic of a number of other reports. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $245.00 price target (up from $235.00) on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a report on Monday, July 6th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $241.00 price objective (up from $224.00) on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $227.65.

Old Dominion Freight Line Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of ODFL stock opened at $177.46 on Monday. Old Dominion Freight Line has a 1-year low of $126.01 and a 1-year high of $252.03. The stock has a market cap of $36.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.19, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $198.92 and a 200-day moving average of $208.04.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.14. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Old Dominion Freight Line will post 5.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Cecil Overbey, Jr. sold 19,952 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.39, for a total transaction of $3,958,277.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 22,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,512,578.94. This represents a 46.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 8.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Old Dominion Freight Line

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ODFL. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new position in Old Dominion Freight Line in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Solstein Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 80.5% during the first quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 139 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. 77.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Old Dominion Freight Line

Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc is a transportation and logistics company that specializes in regional, inter-regional and national less-than-truckload (LTL) services. The company transports shipments that do not require an entire truck, serving commercial, industrial and retail customers across the United States.

Its services include standard and expedited LTL transportation, freight brokerage, supply chain consulting, container drayage and warehousing. Old Dominion supports customers through a network of service centers, terminals and distribution facilities, providing pickup, line-haul and delivery capabilities for a broad range of freight.

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