Landstar System's (LSTR) "Hold" Rating Reaffirmed at Benchmark

Benchmark restated their hold rating on shares of Landstar System (NASDAQ:LSTR - Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on LSTR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Landstar System from $184.00 to $177.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James cut Landstar System from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Landstar System from $176.00 to $174.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group upped their price target on Landstar System from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Landstar System from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Landstar System presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $170.40.

Landstar System Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LSTR traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $162.70. 286,692 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 330,163. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.47 and a beta of 0.83. Landstar System has a 1 year low of $159.87 and a 1 year high of $196.86. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $177.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $181.94. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Landstar System (NASDAQ:LSTR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The transportation company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). Landstar System had a return on equity of 19.56% and a net margin of 4.07%. Analysts anticipate that Landstar System will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Landstar System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Landstar System's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO James P. Todd sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,083 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,595,778.56. This trade represents a 6.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Landstar System

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Landstar System by 28.1% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 59,005 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $11,144,000 after buying an additional 12,931 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV acquired a new position in Landstar System during the third quarter worth about $1,228,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Landstar System by 419.3% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 3,682 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $695,000 after purchasing an additional 2,973 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Landstar System by 3,775.2% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 334,853 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $63,243,000 after purchasing an additional 326,212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Landstar System by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 162,222 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $30,639,000 after purchasing an additional 12,894 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.