Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 89,395 Shares of Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL - Free Report) by 26.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 421,140 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 89,395 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.20% of Old Dominion Freight Line worth $83,655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new stake in Old Dominion Freight Line in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. LRI Investments LLC raised its stake in Old Dominion Freight Line by 73.1% in the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 187 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its position in Old Dominion Freight Line by 472.5% during the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 229 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Old Dominion Freight Line during the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in Old Dominion Freight Line by 398.1% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 269 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. 77.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ODFL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $199.00 to $188.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America decreased their price target on Old Dominion Freight Line from $210.00 to $206.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 6th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $210.00 to $205.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Old Dominion Freight Line from $225.00 to $218.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $203.00 to $196.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Old Dominion Freight Line presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $204.00.

Old Dominion Freight Line Stock Performance

NASDAQ ODFL traded down $6.37 on Friday, reaching $181.37. 4,959,312 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,541,935. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. has a one year low of $165.49 and a one year high of $233.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.72 billion, a PE ratio of 31.71, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 1.00. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $208.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $196.77.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.01. Old Dominion Freight Line had a net margin of 21.03% and a return on equity of 29.40%. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.54 EPS. The company's revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Old Dominion Freight Line Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 4th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 4th. Old Dominion Freight Line's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

Insider Activity at Old Dominion Freight Line

In related news, Director Greg C. Gantt sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.07, for a total transaction of $1,400,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 97,890 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,584,852.30. This trade represents a 6.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Leo H. Suggs sold 3,000 shares of Old Dominion Freight Line stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.44, for a total transaction of $676,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,664,423.52. This represents a 28.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Old Dominion Freight Line Profile

Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc operates as a less-than-truckload motor carrier in the United States and North America. The company offers regional, inter-regional, and national less-than-truckload services, as well as expedited transportation. It also provides various value-added services, including container drayage, truckload brokerage, and supply chain consulting.