Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Raises Stock Holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. $ODFL

Key Points

• Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its Old Dominion Freight Line stake by 346.4% in the fourth quarter, buying 726,576 additional shares and bringing its total to 936,308 shares valued at about $146.8 million.
• Analysts remain mixed on ODFL: the stock has a consensus “Hold” rating with a target price of $215.43, though recent calls included both price-target increases and a downgrade to “sell.”
• Old Dominion Freight Line recently beat quarterly earnings estimates, reporting $1.14 EPS versus $1.05 expected, while revenue came in at $1.33 billion and the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.29 per share.

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL - Free Report) by 346.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 936,308 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 726,576 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned approximately 0.45% of Old Dominion Freight Line worth $146,813,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ODFL. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 600.0% during the 4th quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 210 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line during the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line during the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. 77.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on ODFL shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Old Dominion Freight Line from $202.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up from $232.00) on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their price objective on Old Dominion Freight Line from $176.00 to $172.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Old Dominion Freight Line has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $215.43.

Old Dominion Freight Line Price Performance

NASDAQ ODFL opened at $245.75 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $215.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $189.53. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. has a 1 year low of $126.01 and a 1 year high of $252.03. The company has a market cap of $51.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.41, a PEG ratio of 4.97 and a beta of 1.17.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The transportation company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.09. Old Dominion Freight Line had a return on equity of 23.42% and a net margin of 18.46%.The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Old Dominion Freight Line Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. Old Dominion Freight Line's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Old Dominion Freight Line news, Director Greg C. Gantt sold 22,107 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.52, for a total transaction of $4,233,932.64. Following the sale, the director directly owned 88,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,959,287.52. This trade represents a 19.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 10.00% of the company's stock.

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.

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