Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Purchases Shares of 139,069 Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 139,069 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,625,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in Old Dominion Freight Line by 5.2% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 41,348 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,213,000 after buying an additional 2,044 shares during the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $16,691,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 74.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,022,812 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $207,068,000 after purchasing an additional 437,700 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp increased its position in Old Dominion Freight Line by 2.4% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 4,358 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $866,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Old Dominion Freight Line during the third quarter valued at $1,718,000. Institutional investors own 77.82% of the company’s stock.

Old Dominion Freight Line Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ ODFL opened at $200.69 on Monday. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. has a 52-week low of $165.49 and a 52-week high of $233.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.09, a PEG ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $209.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $196.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.33.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. Old Dominion Freight Line had a return on equity of 29.40% and a net margin of 21.03%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.54 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Old Dominion Freight Line Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. Old Dominion Freight Line’s payout ratio is 18.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Old Dominion Freight Line

In other news, Director Leo H. Suggs sold 3,000 shares of Old Dominion Freight Line stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.44, for a total value of $676,320.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,664,423.52. This trade represents a 28.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Greg C. Gantt sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.07, for a total value of $1,400,490.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 97,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,584,852.30. This trade represents a 6.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 9.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $213.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Argus cut Old Dominion Freight Line from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Old Dominion Freight Line from $199.00 to $188.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut Old Dominion Freight Line from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $209.00 to $197.00 in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Old Dominion Freight Line from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $204.00.

Old Dominion Freight Line Company Profile

Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc operates as a less-than-truckload motor carrier in the United States and North America. The company offers regional, inter-regional, and national less-than-truckload services, as well as expedited transportation. It also provides various value-added services, including container drayage, truckload brokerage, and supply chain consulting.