5,000 Shares in Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. $ODFL Acquired by Gamco Investors INC. ET AL

Key Points

• Gamco Investors bought a new stake in Old Dominion Freight Line, acquiring 5,000 shares valued at about $784,000 in the fourth quarter.
• Other institutional investors have also been active in ODFL, and overall institutions own 77.82% of the company’s stock. Recent moves included new positions from Marshall Wace LLP and Jump Financial LLC.
• Old Dominion reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.14 per share on revenue of $1.33 billion, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.29 per share payable June 17.

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new stake in Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 5,000 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $784,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ODFL. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,559 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 134.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,213 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,690,000 after acquiring an additional 5,866 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in the 2nd quarter valued at $7,478,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Old Dominion Freight Line in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,891,000. Finally, AXA S.A. increased its stake in Old Dominion Freight Line by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 20,253 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,287,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on ODFL. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $202.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $225.00 price objective (up from $218.00) on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $229.00 price objective on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $206.29.

Old Dominion Freight Line Stock Up 1.3%

NASDAQ ODFL opened at $210.47 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $43.77 billion, a PE ratio of 44.03, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 1.17. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $126.01 and a fifty-two week high of $233.79. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $201.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $179.25.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The transportation company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. Old Dominion Freight Line had a return on equity of 23.42% and a net margin of 18.46%.Old Dominion Freight Line's quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Old Dominion Freight Line Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Old Dominion Freight Line's payout ratio is 24.27%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Greg C. Gantt sold 22,107 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.52, for a total value of $4,233,932.64. Following the sale, the director owned 88,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,959,287.52. This trade represents a 19.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Earl E. Congdon sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 2,162,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $424,055,222.69. This trade represents a 1.14% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 10.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Old Dominion Freight Line Profile

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.

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