Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $222.25 and last traded at $221.8420, with a volume of 290659 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $217.76.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $232.00 price target on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $114.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Zacks Research raised shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $195.50.

Old Dominion Freight Line Trading Up 2.6%

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $196.29 and its 200-day moving average is $168.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.58 billion, a PE ratio of 46.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 1.20.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The transportation company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.30 billion. Old Dominion Freight Line had a net margin of 18.62% and a return on equity of 24.03%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. will post 5.68 EPS for the current year.

Old Dominion Freight Line Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a $0.29 dividend. This is a boost from Old Dominion Freight Line’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Old Dominion Freight Line’s payout ratio is 24.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Old Dominion Freight Line

In other news, insider Earl E. Congdon sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.13, for a total transaction of $4,903,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,162,113 shares in the company, valued at $424,055,222.69. This trade represents a 1.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman David S. Congdon sold 52,000 shares of Old Dominion Freight Line stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.77, for a total value of $10,128,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 712,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $138,832,056. The trade was a 6.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 80,134 shares of company stock valued at $15,640,132 over the last quarter. 10.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Old Dominion Freight Line

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ODFL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 2.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,252,921 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,273,546,000 after acquiring an additional 494,674 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,223,960 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,230,318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,761,511 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,746,286 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,214,618,000 after purchasing an additional 70,736 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line by 21.6% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,366,843 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $614,764,000 after purchasing an additional 776,004 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners grew its stake in Old Dominion Freight Line by 98.4% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,122,696 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $648,186,000 after purchasing an additional 2,044,434 shares in the last quarter. 77.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Old Dominion Freight Line

Old Dominion Freight Line is a U.S.-based less-than-truckload (LTL) transportation company that provides regional, inter-regional and national freight services. Founded in 1934 and headquartered in Thomasville, North Carolina, the company has grown from a regional carrier into a national freight network, operating a broad system of service centers and terminals to move shipments for shippers of varying sizes and industries.

The company’s core business is LTL trucking, offering scheduled pickup and delivery for palletized freight that does not require a full truckload.