Short Interest in Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR) Expands By 43.9%

Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 865,900 shares, an increase of 43.9% from the January 15th total of 601,700 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 280,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LSTR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Benchmark restated a "hold" rating on shares of Landstar System in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Landstar System from $184.00 to $177.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James downgraded Landstar System from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna cut their target price on Landstar System from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Landstar System from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $170.40.

Landstar System Trading Up 0.2 %

LSTR stock traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $158.67. 296,404 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 304,533. Landstar System has a 52-week low of $157.90 and a 52-week high of $196.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 1.96. The business has a 50 day moving average of $170.04 and a 200-day moving average of $179.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74 and a beta of 0.83.

Landstar System (NASDAQ:LSTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The transportation company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.04). Landstar System had a return on equity of 19.56% and a net margin of 4.07%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Landstar System will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Landstar System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Landstar System's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Landstar System

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Landstar System during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. HM Payson & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Landstar System during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its stake in Landstar System by 61.7% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 186 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in Landstar System in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, BOKF NA raised its holdings in shares of Landstar System by 56.1% in the fourth quarter. BOKF NA now owns 348 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. 97.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Landstar System

Landstar System, Inc provides integrated transportation management solutions in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and internationally. It operates through two segments: Transportation Logistics and Insurance. The Transportation Logistics segment offers a range of transportation services, including truckload and less-than-truckload transportation, rail intermodal, air cargo, ocean cargo, expedited ground and air delivery of time-critical freight, heavy-haul/specialized, U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico cross-border, intra-Mexico, intra-Canada, project cargo, and customs brokerage, as well as offers transportation services to other transportation companies, such as third party logistics and less-than-truckload services.