Renaissance Technologies LLC Buys 24,100 Shares of Landstar System, Inc. $LSTR

Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR) by 42.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 80,440 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,100 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.24% of Landstar System worth $12,895,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LSTR. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Landstar System by 151,424.4% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 6,294,325 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $904,495,000 after purchasing an additional 6,290,171 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its holdings in Landstar System by 24.1% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,761,526 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $216,242,000 after purchasing an additional 341,808 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Landstar System by 19.1% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,118,554 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $179,315,000 after purchasing an additional 179,294 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Landstar System by 185.5% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 987,087 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $141,844,000 after buying an additional 641,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Landstar System by 99.5% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 742,215 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $105,877,000 after buying an additional 370,253 shares during the last quarter. 97.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Landstar System Trading Up 3.2%

NASDAQ:LSTR opened at $174.77 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.28 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $207.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.08. Landstar System, Inc. has a 1 year low of $119.32 and a 1 year high of $228.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.88.

Landstar System (NASDAQ:LSTR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.05). Landstar System had a return on equity of 20.84% and a net margin of 2.64%.The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. Landstar System’s revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Landstar System, Inc. will post 5.8 EPS for the current year.

Landstar System Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from Landstar System’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Landstar System’s dividend payout ratio is 45.60%.

Landstar System declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 28th that permits the company to buyback 1,115,195,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the transportation company to reacquire up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on LSTR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Landstar System from $198.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Landstar System from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Stephens raised Landstar System to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Landstar System from $195.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Landstar System from $147.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Landstar System presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $194.62.

Insider Transactions at Landstar System

In other news, Director Diana M. Murphy sold 11,246 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.28, for a total value of $2,488,514.88. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,171,791.84. This represents a 37.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO James P. Todd sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.17, for a total transaction of $261,804.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 15,122 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,299,166.74. The trade was a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.74% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Landstar System Profile

Landstar System, Inc provides integrated transportation management solutions through a network of independent agents and third-party capacity providers. The company specializes in truckload brokerage, intermodal, air and ocean freight, expedited and heavy-haul services, along with value-added offerings such as cargo insurance, customs brokerage and supply chain management. Landstar’s proprietary technology platform enables real-time load matching, shipment tracking and data analytics to optimize fleet utilization and improve customer service.

Founded in 1968 and headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, Landstar pioneered an asset-light brokerage model that has evolved into a global logistics operation.