Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. $ODFL Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group boosted its stake in Old Dominion Freight Line by 43.7% in the first quarter, buying an additional 182,839 shares and bringing its total holding to 601,586 shares worth about $117.6 million.
• Old Dominion Freight Line reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.14 per share on revenue of $1.33 billion, though revenue still declined 2.9% year over year. Analysts currently have a consensus rating of Hold with an average price target of $222.
• Despite some mixed analyst views, institutional ownership remains high at 77.82%, and the company recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.29 per share, equal to a 0.5% annualized yield.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL - Free Report) by 43.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 601,586 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 182,839 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.29% of Old Dominion Freight Line worth $117,550,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,223,960 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,230,318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,761,511 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,746,286 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,214,618,000 after buying an additional 70,736 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 776,004 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its stake in Old Dominion Freight Line by 98.4% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,122,696 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $648,186,000 after buying an additional 2,044,434 shares during the period. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Old Dominion Freight Line by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,680,719 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $577,137,000 after buying an additional 365,424 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Old Dominion Freight Line

In other news, Director Greg C. Gantt sold 22,107 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 owned 88,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,959,287.52. This represents a 19.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 10.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ODFL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $240.00 price target (up from $232.00) on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their target price on shares of 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. Argus boosted their target price on Old Dominion Freight Line from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Evercore upgraded Old Dominion Freight Line from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Old Dominion Freight Line from $216.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $222.00.

Old Dominion Freight Line Stock Performance

NASDAQ ODFL opened at $225.23 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $220.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $201.40. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. has a one year low of $126.01 and a one year high of $252.03. The firm has a market cap of $46.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.12, a PEG ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 1.18.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The transportation company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.09. Old Dominion Freight Line had a net margin of 18.46% and a return on equity of 23.42%. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. will post 5.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Old Dominion Freight Line Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Old Dominion Freight Line's payout ratio is 24.27%.

Old Dominion Freight Line Company 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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