Landstar System (NASDAQ:LSTR) Stock Price Down 4.1% After Earnings Miss

Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR - Get Free Report) shares dropped 4.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as low as $164.99 and last traded at $165.88. Approximately 60,739 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 296,100 shares. The stock had previously closed at $172.92.

The transportation company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). Landstar System had a net margin of 4.07% and a return on equity of 19.56%.

Landstar System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. Landstar System's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on LSTR. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Landstar System from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group raised their target price on Landstar System from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Landstar System from $165.00 to $158.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Landstar System in a report on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on Landstar System from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Landstar System presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $170.40.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO James P. Todd sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.32, for a total value of $184,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,083 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,595,778.56. This represents a 6.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Landstar System

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LSTR. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Landstar System by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,117,857 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $211,130,000 after purchasing an additional 15,328 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Landstar System by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 813,546 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $153,685,000 after buying an additional 39,223 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Landstar System by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 429,928 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $81,201,000 after purchasing an additional 41,758 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Landstar System by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 388,142 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $73,308,000 after purchasing an additional 3,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Landstar System by 0.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 362,652 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $68,494,000 after buying an additional 948 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.95% of the company's stock.

Landstar System Stock Down 1.1 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $177.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $181.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.43 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

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.