Parnassus Investments LLC Increases Stock Position in Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. $ODFL

Parnassus Investments LLC increased its position in Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL) by 116.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 383,487 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 205,910 shares during the quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line were worth $60,131,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ODFL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in the fourth quarter valued at $444,983,000. Boston Partners purchased a new position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in the third quarter valued at $292,599,000. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 637.5% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,576,470 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $221,935,000 after purchasing an additional 1,362,697 shares during the period. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in the fourth quarter valued at $188,651,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line by 122.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,822,304 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $285,737,000 after acquiring an additional 1,004,609 shares in the last quarter. 77.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price target (up from $218.00) on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a report on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $216.00 price target on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $224.00 price target on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $197.00 to $234.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $202.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $215.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Old Dominion Freight Line

In other Old Dominion Freight Line news, Director Greg C. Gantt sold 22,107 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.52, for a total transaction of $4,233,932.64. Following the sale, the director directly owned 88,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,959,287.52. This represents a 19.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 10.00% of the company’s stock.

Old Dominion Freight Line Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ODFL opened at $247.76 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 1.17. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. has a 1-year low of $126.01 and a 1-year high of $252.03. The company’s fifty day moving average is $214.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $189.13.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The transportation company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. Old Dominion Freight Line had a net margin of 18.46% and a return on equity of 23.42%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. will post 5.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Old Dominion Freight Line Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. Old Dominion Freight Line’s dividend payout ratio is 24.27%.

About Old Dominion Freight Line

Old Dominion Freight Line is a U.S.-based less-than-truckload (LTL) transportation company that provides regional, inter-regional and national freight services. Founded in 1934 and headquartered in Thomasville, North Carolina, the company has grown from a regional carrier into a national freight network, operating a broad system of service centers and terminals to move shipments for shippers of varying sizes and industries.

The company’s core business is LTL trucking, offering scheduled pickup and delivery for palletized freight that does not require a full truckload.