Stifel Nicolaus Upgrades Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) to Buy

Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $200.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $193.00.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on ODFL. StockNews.com raised Old Dominion Freight Line from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $213.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $201.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $203.72.

Old Dominion Freight Line Stock Down 2.3 %

ODFL stock opened at $175.69 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $37.51 billion, a PE ratio of 32.06, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.05. Old Dominion Freight Line has a 1 year low of $165.49 and a 1 year high of $233.26. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $187.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $197.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The transportation company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.06. Old Dominion Freight Line had a return on equity of 28.02% and a net margin of 20.40%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Old Dominion Freight Line will post 5.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Old Dominion Freight Line Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. This is an increase from Old Dominion Freight Line’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Old Dominion Freight Line’s payout ratio is currently 18.98%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Old Dominion Freight Line

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ODFL. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Old Dominion Freight Line in the fourth quarter valued at about $494,916,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line by 1,575.9% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,447,784 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $255,390,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361,397 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 109.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,435,228 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $285,094,000 after purchasing an additional 750,073 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in the 4th quarter worth approximately $128,221,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line during the 4th quarter worth approximately $114,449,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.82% of the company’s stock.

About Old Dominion Freight Line

Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc operates as a less-than-truckload motor carrier in the United States and North America. The company offers regional, inter-regional, and national less-than-truckload services, as well as expedited transportation. It also provides various value-added services, including container drayage, truckload brokerage, and supply chain consulting.