Landstar System (NASDAQ:LSTR) Reaches New 1-Year Low - Here's What Happened

Shares of Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $165.31 and last traded at $167.09, with a volume of 15836 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $167.89.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Landstar System from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Landstar System from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Landstar System from $176.00 to $174.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Landstar System from $165.00 to $158.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of Landstar System from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Landstar System presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $174.25.

Landstar System Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $180.76 and a 200 day moving average of $182.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 2.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.42 and a beta of 0.83.

Landstar System (NASDAQ:LSTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. Landstar System had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 20.68%. Landstar System's revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Landstar System, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

Landstar System Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be paid a dividend of $2.00 per share. This is a boost from Landstar System's previous special dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 7th. Landstar System's payout ratio is presently 24.70%.

Insider Activity

In other Landstar System news, CFO James P. Todd sold 1,000 shares of Landstar System stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.32, for a total transaction of $184,320.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,083 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,595,778.56. The trade was a 6.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Landstar System

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Landstar System by 3,775.2% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 334,853 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $63,243,000 after purchasing an additional 326,212 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Landstar System by 509.3% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 55,048 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $10,397,000 after purchasing an additional 46,014 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Landstar System by 24.0% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 232,924 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $43,992,000 after purchasing an additional 45,147 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in Landstar System by 10.8% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 429,928 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $81,201,000 after purchasing an additional 41,758 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Landstar System by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 813,546 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $153,685,000 after purchasing an additional 39,223 shares in the last quarter. 97.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.