Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Stake in Landstar System, Inc. $LSTR

Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR) by 7,282.2% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 27,831 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,454 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Landstar System were worth $4,462,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in shares of Landstar System by 151,424.4% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 6,294,325 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $904,495,000 after acquiring an additional 6,290,171 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Landstar System by 185.5% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 987,087 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $141,844,000 after purchasing an additional 641,319 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Landstar System by 910.2% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 541,880 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $77,868,000 after purchasing an additional 488,238 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Landstar System by 5,643.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 386,758 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $55,577,000 after purchasing an additional 380,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Landstar System by 99.5% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 742,215 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $105,877,000 after purchasing an additional 370,253 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.95% of the company’s stock.

Landstar System Price Performance

LSTR stock opened at $211.56 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $204.78 and a 200-day moving average of $174.86. Landstar System, Inc. has a 12-month low of $119.32 and a 12-month high of $228.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market cap of $7.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.44 and a beta of 0.89.

Landstar System (NASDAQ:LSTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.16 billion. Landstar System had a return on equity of 19.49% and a net margin of 2.62%.Landstar System’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Landstar System, Inc. will post 5.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Landstar System declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, April 28th that authorizes the company to buyback 1,115,195,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the transportation company to purchase up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Landstar System Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. Landstar System’s payout ratio is 44.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Landstar System

In related news, CFO James P. Todd sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.17, for a total value of $261,804.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 15,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,299,166.74. This represents a 7.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $2,488,514.88. Following the transaction, the director owned 18,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,171,791.84. This trade represents a 37.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on LSTR. Stephens upgraded Landstar System to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Landstar System from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Landstar System from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Evercore set a $181.00 price objective on Landstar System in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Landstar System from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $192.42.

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.