Nicholas Company Inc. Raises Stake in Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL)

Nicholas Company Inc. boosted its position in Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 95,565 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,495 shares during the period. Nicholas Company Inc.’s holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line were worth $16,858,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ODFL. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 109.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,435,228 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $285,094,000 after purchasing an additional 750,073 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $128,221,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $114,449,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 74.8% during 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 during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,983,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.82% of the company’s stock.

Old Dominion Freight Line Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ ODFL opened at $162.50 on Friday. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. has a 12 month low of $159.35 and a 12 month high of $233.26. The stock has a market cap of $34.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $186.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $195.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The transportation company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.06. Old Dominion Freight Line had a return on equity of 28.02% and a net margin of 20.40%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. will post 5.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Old Dominion Freight Line Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This is a boost from Old Dominion Freight Line’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. Old Dominion Freight Line’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Old Dominion Freight Line from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Old Dominion Freight Line from $237.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Old Dominion Freight Line from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Old Dominion Freight Line from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $193.00 to $200.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Old Dominion Freight Line in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $236.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Old Dominion Freight Line has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $202.65.

About Old Dominion Freight Line

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.