Van ECK Associates Corp Makes New Investment in Landstar System, Inc. $LSTR

Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new stake in shares of Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 30,042 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,213,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Landstar System by 13.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 250,112 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $40,095,000 after acquiring an additional 29,595 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Landstar System in the fourth quarter worth $35,280,000. Manatuck Hill Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Landstar System during the 4th quarter worth about $862,000. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Landstar System during the second quarter worth about $21,043,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Landstar System during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,064,000. Institutional investors own 97.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Diana M. Murphy sold 11,246 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 18,853 shares in the company, valued at $4,171,791.84. This trade represents a 37.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO James P. Todd sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.17, for a total value of $261,804.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 15,122 shares in the company, valued at $3,299,166.74. This represents a 7.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on LSTR. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $145.00 price target on shares of Landstar System in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Landstar System from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 29th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Landstar System from $186.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Landstar System from $195.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Landstar System from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $196.00.

Landstar System Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:LSTR opened at $174.70 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $5.93 billion, a PE ratio of 45.26 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50 day moving average is $193.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $182.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Landstar System, Inc. has a 52 week low of $119.32 and a 52 week high of $228.46.

Landstar System (NASDAQ:LSTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. Landstar System had a net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 20.84%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Landstar System, Inc. will post 5.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Landstar System Increases Dividend

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

About Landstar System

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.