Landstar System (NASDAQ:LSTR) Shares Up 4.8% After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR) shares rose 4.8% during trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $180.10 and last traded at $179.39. Approximately 341,235 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 25% from the average daily volume of 272,162 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.10.

The transportation company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.04. Landstar System had a net margin of 4.63% and a return on equity of 23.17%. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion.

Landstar System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Landstar System’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Landstar System from $171.00 to $166.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Landstar System from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Landstar System from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Landstar System from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Landstar System from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $184.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Landstar System

In other Landstar System news, VP Michael K. Kneller sold 12,219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.30, for a total value of $2,325,275.70. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 61,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,632,468.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Landstar System

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LSTR. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Landstar System in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Landstar System by 209.7% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 192 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Landstar System in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Landstar System in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Landstar System in the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. Institutional investors own 97.95% of the company’s stock.

Landstar System Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $6.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.27, a P/E/G ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $184.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $183.48.

Landstar System Company Profile

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.