Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Makes New $469,000 Investment in Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. $ODFL

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management purchased a new position in Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 2,991 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $469,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Diversified Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 3,883 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $609,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Cim LLC increased its stake in Old Dominion Freight Line by 1.0% in the third quarter. Cim LLC now owns 7,685 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Old Dominion Freight Line by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,559 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its stake in Old Dominion Freight Line by 8.5% during the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,071 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its stake in Old Dominion Freight Line by 18.8% during the third quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 588 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on ODFL. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Old Dominion Freight Line from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $205.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Evercore upped their price objective on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $200.00 to $201.00 in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $168.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Old Dominion Freight Line has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $191.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Old Dominion Freight Line

In related news, Chairman David S. Congdon sold 52,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.77, for a total value of $10,128,040.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 712,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $138,832,056. This trade represents a 6.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Bradley R. Gabosch sold 3,134 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.27, for a total value of $608,842.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,278 shares in the company, valued at $2,190,977.06. The trade was a 21.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 80,134 shares of company stock worth $15,640,132. 10.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Old Dominion Freight Line Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ODFL opened at $198.00 on Monday. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $126.01 and a fifty-two week high of $221.63. The firm has a market cap of $41.27 billion, a PE ratio of 40.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $191.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $163.57.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The transportation company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. Old Dominion Freight Line had a net margin of 18.62% and a return on equity of 24.03%. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. This is a positive change from Old Dominion Freight Line’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Old Dominion Freight Line’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.02%.

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.