Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.40

Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, May 12th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of 0.40 per share by the transportation company on Tuesday, June 24th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This is a 11.1% increase from Landstar System’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36.

Landstar System has increased its dividend payment by an average of 14.5% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 10 consecutive years. Landstar System has a payout ratio of 22.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Landstar System to earn $7.35 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 19.6%.

Landstar System Price Performance

LSTR opened at $137.66 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a PE ratio of 24.94 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $138.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $158.34. Landstar System has a 1 year low of $128.99 and a 1 year high of $196.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 2.21.

Landstar System (NASDAQ:LSTR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 13th. The transportation company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. Landstar System had a net margin of 4.07% and a return on equity of 19.56%. Landstar System’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.32 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Landstar System will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on LSTR shares. Wall Street Zen cut Landstar System from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Landstar System from $161.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Landstar System from $147.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Landstar System from $177.00 to $147.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Landstar System from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Landstar System currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $150.42.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Landstar System

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Landstar System by 57.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 138,009 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $20,729,000 after purchasing an additional 50,142 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Landstar System by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 142,341 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $21,380,000 after acquiring an additional 16,698 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Landstar System by 38.3% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,687 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $704,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Landstar System by 9.8% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,767 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $566,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Landstar System by 132.7% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 249 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. 97.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Landstar System

Landstar System, Inc provides integrated transportation management solutions in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and internationally. It operates through two segments: Transportation Logistics and Insurance. The Transportation Logistics segment offers a range of transportation services, including truckload and less-than-truckload transportation, rail intermodal, air cargo, ocean cargo, expedited ground and air delivery of time-critical freight, heavy-haul/specialized, U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico cross-border, intra-Mexico, intra-Canada, project cargo, and customs brokerage, as well as offers transportation services to other transportation companies, such as third party logistics and less-than-truckload services.