Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) Earns Equal Weight Rating from Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley reiterated its Equal Weight rating on Old Dominion Freight Line and raised its price target to $245 from $235, implying about 12.6% upside from the current price.
• Broader analyst sentiment remains mixed: the stock has a consensus Hold rating, with nine Buy, 14 Hold, and three Sell ratings, and an average price target of $219.
• Old Dominion recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting $1.14 EPS versus $1.05 expected and revenue of $1.33 billion, though revenue still declined 2.9% year over year.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "equal weight" rating restated by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $245.00 price target on the transportation company's stock, up from their previous price target of $235.00. Morgan Stanley's target price points to a potential upside of 12.57% from the company's current price.

ODFL has been the topic of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Old Dominion Freight Line from $197.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $229.00 price objective on Old Dominion Freight Line and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. UBS Group increased their target price on Old Dominion Freight Line from $202.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $219.00.

Old Dominion Freight Line Price Performance

Shares of Old Dominion Freight Line stock opened at $217.65 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $218.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $197.68. Old Dominion Freight Line has a 12-month low of $126.01 and a 12-month high of $252.03.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Old Dominion Freight Line had a net margin of 18.46% and a return on equity of 23.42%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Old Dominion Freight Line will post 5.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Old Dominion Freight Line

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Old Dominion Freight Line by 14.1% in the fourth 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% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,746,286 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,214,618,000 after purchasing an additional 70,736 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in Old Dominion Freight Line by 21.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 776,004 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its position in Old Dominion Freight Line by 98.4% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,122,696 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $648,186,000 after purchasing an additional 2,044,434 shares during the period. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,680,719 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $577,137,000 after purchasing an additional 365,424 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.82% 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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