Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $65.66 Million Position in Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. $ODFL

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its stake in Old Dominion Freight Line by 61.7%, buying 159,788 shares to hold 418,747 shares worth about $65.66 million (≈0.20% of the company) at quarter-end.
• Analysts have a consensus "Hold" rating (average price target $206.46); Old Dominion recently beat Q1 EPS estimates ($1.14 vs. $1.05) but reported revenue down 2.9% year-over-year.
• Insiders have sold roughly 102,241 shares (~$19.9 million) in the past 90 days while institutional investors own 77.82% of the stock, led by Vanguard's 23.25 million-share stake (~$3.27 billion).

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL - Free Report) by 61.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 418,747 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 159,788 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.20% of Old Dominion Freight Line worth $65,660,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 2.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,252,921 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,273,546,000 after purchasing an additional 494,674 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 21.6% in the 3rd 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 period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Old Dominion Freight Line by 21.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,544,588 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $499,007,000 after buying an additional 622,275 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners acquired a new position in Old Dominion Freight Line during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $292,599,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line by 6.2% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,054,044 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $289,168,000 after acquiring an additional 120,564 shares in the last quarter. 77.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ODFL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Old Dominion Freight Line from $228.00 to $232.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $194.00 target price (up from $180.00) on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research raised shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $205.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Old Dominion Freight Line currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $206.46.

Old Dominion Freight Line Stock Down 1.3%

ODFL stock opened at $198.06 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.25 billion, a PE ratio of 41.44, a P/E/G ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 1.17. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. has a twelve month low of $126.01 and a twelve month high of $233.79. The stock's 50 day moving average is $201.05 and its 200-day moving average is $174.68.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The transportation company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Greg C. Gantt sold 22,107 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.52, for a total transaction of $4,233,932.64. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 88,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,959,287.52. This trade represents a 19.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Bradley R. Gabosch sold 3,134 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.27, for a total transaction of $608,842.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,278 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,190,977.06. The trade was a 21.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 102,241 shares of company stock worth $19,874,065. 10.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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