Associated Banc Corp Raises Stock Holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. $ODFL

Associated Banc Corp grew its stake in Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL) by 67.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 210,162 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 84,374 shares during the quarter. Old Dominion Freight Line makes up approximately 1.1% of Associated Banc Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line were worth $41,066,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Diversify Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in the 1st quarter worth approximately $598,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 3,700.0% in the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 8,360 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,634,000 after buying an additional 8,140 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its holdings in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 30.7% in the first quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 2,777 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $543,000 after buying an additional 653 shares during the period. Midwest Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 26.0% in the 1st quarter. Midwest Trust Co now owns 50,885 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,943,000 after acquiring an additional 10,496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line by 484.3% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 39,218 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,663,000 after acquiring an additional 32,506 shares during the period. 77.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Old Dominion Freight Line Trading Up 0.8%

ODFL stock traded up $1.78 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $227.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,215,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,661,880. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. has a 12 month low of $126.01 and a 12 month high of $252.03. The company has a market cap of $47.34 billion, a PE ratio of 47.62, a P/E/G ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $218.73 and its 200-day moving average is $199.62.

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. Old Dominion Freight Line had a return on equity of 23.42% and a net margin of 18.46%.The business had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. Old Dominion Freight Line’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Old Dominion Freight Line Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Greg C. Gantt sold 22,107 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.52, for a total value of $4,233,932.64. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 88,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,959,287.52. This trade represents a 19.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 10.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on ODFL. Barclays boosted their price objective on Old Dominion Freight Line from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $205.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Citigroup upgraded shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $228.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday. Evercore raised Old Dominion Freight Line from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price target (up from $209.00) on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Old Dominion Freight Line currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $220.00.

Old Dominion Freight Line Company Profile

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.