Financial Counselors Inc. Increases Stock Position in Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL)

Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 39,961 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line were worth $7,049,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in Old Dominion Freight Line in the fourth quarter worth $3,741,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line during the 4th quarter worth $128,221,000. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 77.7% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 98,061 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $19,479,000 after purchasing an additional 42,880 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in the fourth quarter valued at about $630,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in the fourth quarter valued at about $600,000. 77.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ODFL. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $237.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Old Dominion Freight Line in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $236.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Old Dominion Freight Line from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $202.65.

Old Dominion Freight Line Price Performance

ODFL opened at $168.67 on Thursday. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. has a 1 year low of $157.67 and a 1 year high of $233.26. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $183.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $193.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.85 billion, a PE ratio of 30.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.33.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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, sell-side analysts expect that Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. will post 5.68 EPS for the current year.

Old Dominion Freight Line Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. Old Dominion Freight Line’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.98%.

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.