Ascent Group LLC Raises Stock Position in Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL)

Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL) by 23.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line were worth $500,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ODFL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 100.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,795,649 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,780,004,000 after purchasing an additional 10,944,520 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line by 117.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,726,847 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,010,435,000 after buying an additional 7,401,526 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line by 94.6% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,940,385 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,302,786,000 after buying an additional 2,888,205 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line by 59.0% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,592,594 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,445,822,000 after buying an additional 2,447,121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line by 101.0% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,443,770 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $535,943,000 after buying an additional 1,228,116 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.82% of the company’s stock.

Old Dominion Freight Line Price Performance

ODFL traded up $3.80 on Tuesday, reaching $205.30. 265,384 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,616,250. The stock has a market cap of $44.61 billion, a PE ratio of 35.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 1.00. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. has a twelve month low of $165.49 and a twelve month high of $227.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $180.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $198.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 2.29.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The transportation company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.03. Old Dominion Freight Line had a net margin of 21.38% and a return on equity of 30.33%. The firm had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. Old Dominion Freight Line’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. will post 5.73 EPS for the current year.

Old Dominion Freight Line Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. Old Dominion Freight Line’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ODFL shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $245.00 to $210.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $174.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $176.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $175.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $202.78.

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.