KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys New Shares in Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 68,200 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,030,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in Old Dominion Freight Line in the fourth quarter valued at $3,741,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line during the fourth quarter valued at about $128,221,000. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 77.7% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 98,061 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $19,479,000 after buying an additional 42,880 shares during the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line during the fourth quarter valued at about $600,000. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line during the fourth quarter valued at about $630,000. Institutional investors own 77.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised Old Dominion Freight Line from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $193.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Old Dominion Freight Line from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised Old Dominion Freight Line from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Old Dominion Freight Line from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Old Dominion Freight Line from $205.00 to $186.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $202.65.

Old Dominion Freight Line Stock Performance

Shares of ODFL opened at $165.22 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $184.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $194.29. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. has a one year low of $157.67 and a one year high of $233.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.12 billion, a PE ratio of 30.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.33.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) last released its 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. will post 5.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Old Dominion Freight Line Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. This is a positive change from Old Dominion Freight Line’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Old Dominion Freight Line’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.98%.

Old Dominion Freight Line 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.