84,962 Shares in Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. $ODFL Purchased by Baillie Gifford & Co.

Key Points

• Baillie Gifford & Co. bought a new position of 84,962 shares of Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) in Q4, valued at roughly $13.3 million.
• Institutional investors own 77.82% of ODFL with large stakes added by firms like Boston Partners and Two Sigma, while corporate insiders sold 80,134 shares (about $15.64M) last quarter, including Chairman David Congdon's sale of 52,000 shares.
• Analysts' consensus is a Hold with an average target of about $194.92; the company slightly beat Q4 EPS estimates despite a 5.7% YoY revenue decline and recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.29 (≈0.6% yield).

Baillie Gifford & Co. bought a new position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 84,962 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $13,322,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ODFL. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in Old Dominion Freight Line during the third quarter worth about $292,599,000. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line by 637.5% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,576,470 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $221,935,000 after acquiring an additional 1,362,697 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line by 21.6% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,366,843 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $614,764,000 after acquiring an additional 776,004 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line by 21.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,544,588 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $499,007,000 after acquiring an additional 622,275 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line by 134.5% during the third quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 982,066 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $138,255,000 after acquiring an additional 563,254 shares during the period. 77.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ODFL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Old Dominion Freight Line from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Bank of America set a $165.00 target price on Old Dominion Freight Line in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Old Dominion Freight Line from $209.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Old Dominion Freight Line from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $205.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Old Dominion Freight Line from $167.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $194.92.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman David S. Congdon sold 52,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.77, for a total value of $10,128,040.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 712,800 shares in the company, valued at $138,832,056. This trade represents a 6.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Bradley R. Gabosch sold 3,134 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.27, for a total value of $608,842.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,190,977.06. This trade represents a 21.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 80,134 shares of company stock worth $15,640,132 over the last quarter. 10.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Old Dominion Freight Line Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of ODFL opened at $207.63 on Tuesday. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. has a 12 month low of $126.01 and a 12 month high of $221.63. The stock's 50 day moving average is $195.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.32. The firm has a market cap of $43.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.99, a PEG ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 1.20.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The transportation company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. Old Dominion Freight Line had a return on equity of 24.03% and a net margin of 18.62%.The company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. Old Dominion Freight Line's quarterly revenue was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. will post 5.68 EPS for the current year.

Old Dominion Freight Line Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. This is an increase from Old Dominion Freight Line's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Old Dominion Freight Line's dividend payout ratio is 24.02%.

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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