Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Trims Stock Position in Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. $ODFL

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. cut its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL) by 84.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 8,502 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 46,485 shares during the quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line were worth $1,333,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line during the fourth quarter worth approximately $234,000. BAM Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 31.9% during the fourth quarter. BAM Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,827 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,408 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC increased its position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 8,810 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,381,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. QV Investors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line during the fourth quarter worth approximately $19,743,000. Finally, Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO purchased a new position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,029,000. 77.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Old Dominion Freight Line

In other Old Dominion Freight Line news, insider Earl E. Congdon sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.13, for a total value of $4,903,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 2,162,113 shares in the company, valued at $424,055,222.69. This trade represents a 1.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman David S. Congdon sold 52,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.77, for a total transaction of $10,128,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 712,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $138,832,056. This trade represents a 6.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 80,134 shares of company stock worth $15,640,132 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 10.00% of the company’s stock.

Old Dominion Freight Line Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of ODFL opened at $198.93 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $41.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 1.20. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. has a twelve month low of $126.01 and a twelve month high of $221.63. The company has a 50 day moving average of $192.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $164.40.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The transportation company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. Old Dominion Freight Line had a net margin of 18.62% and a return on equity of 24.03%. Old Dominion Freight Line’s revenue was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. will post 5.68 EPS for the current year.

Old Dominion Freight Line Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Old Dominion Freight Line’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. Old Dominion Freight Line’s payout ratio is 24.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ODFL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Wolfe Research set a $138.00 price objective on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $209.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $166.00 to $204.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $192.88.

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.