Stifel Nicolaus Issues Positive Forecast for Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) Stock Price

Key Points

• Stifel Nicolaus raised its price target on Old Dominion Freight Line to $228 (from $217) and kept a buy rating, implying about an 11.12% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst coverage is mixed—9 Buys, 14 Holds and 3 Sells—leaving a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Hold" with a consensus price target of $195.50.
• ODFL's latest quarter beat EPS estimates ($1.09 vs. $1.06) but revenue fell 5.7% year‑over‑year, and insiders have sold 80,134 shares (~$15.64M) in the past 90 days.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by equities research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $217.00 to $228.00 in a report released on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the transportation company's stock. Stifel Nicolaus' price objective suggests a potential upside of 11.12% from the stock's previous close.

ODFL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $232.00 price objective on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a report on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $202.00 price target (up from $164.00) on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Susquehanna reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $205.00 price target (up from $185.00) on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Old Dominion Freight Line from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $205.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Argus upgraded Old Dominion Freight Line from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $195.50.

Old Dominion Freight Line Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of Old Dominion Freight Line stock opened at $205.19 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $195.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.09. Old Dominion Freight Line has a 52 week low of $126.01 and a 52 week high of $221.63. The company has a market capitalization of $42.77 billion, a PE ratio of 42.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Bradley R. Gabosch sold 3,134 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.27, for a total transaction of $608,842.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,278 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,190,977.06. This represents a 21.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Earl E. Congdon sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.13, for a total transaction of $4,903,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 2,162,113 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $424,055,222.69. This trade represents a 1.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 80,134 shares of company stock worth $15,640,132. 10.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Old Dominion Freight Line

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Old Dominion Freight Line by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,252,921 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,273,546,000 after buying an additional 494,674 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,223,960 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,230,318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,761,511 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 70,736 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 776,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its stake in Old Dominion Freight Line by 98.4% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,122,696 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $648,186,000 after purchasing an additional 2,044,434 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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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