Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 35,935 Shares of Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 457,075 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 35,935 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line were worth $80,628,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,633,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,516,324,000 after acquiring an additional 279,946 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line by 6.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,830,973 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $959,005,000 after purchasing an additional 275,236 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line by 109.5% during the third 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 last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 4.5% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,329,826 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $264,157,000 after purchasing an additional 57,301 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 7.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,203,666 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $239,096,000 after buying an additional 78,587 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.82% of the company’s stock.

Old Dominion Freight Line Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ ODFL opened at $205.11 on Thursday. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. has a 52-week low of $165.49 and a 52-week high of $233.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.33. The business has a fifty day moving average of $189.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $197.91. The stock has a market cap of $43.79 billion, a PE ratio of 37.43, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.05.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The transportation company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.06. Old Dominion Freight Line had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 28.02%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. will post 5.68 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This is a positive change from Old Dominion Freight Line’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Old Dominion Freight Line’s dividend payout ratio is 18.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ODFL shares. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $199.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Old Dominion Freight Line from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Old Dominion Freight Line from $204.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Old Dominion Freight Line from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $203.33.

Old Dominion Freight Line Company Profile

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.