Morgan Stanley Boosts Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) Price Target to $170.00

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) had its price target boosted by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $170.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would indicate a potential downside of 14.25% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Old Dominion Freight Line from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Old Dominion Freight Line from $204.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Old Dominion Freight Line from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Barclays lowered their target price on Old Dominion Freight Line from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Old Dominion Freight Line from $176.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $202.56.

Old Dominion Freight Line Price Performance

ODFL traded up $4.60 during trading on Thursday, reaching $198.25. 250,417 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,416,154. The company’s 50-day moving average is $191.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $197.70. The company has a market cap of $42.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.83, a P/E/G ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Old Dominion Freight Line has a 12-month low of $165.49 and a 12-month high of $233.26.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The transportation company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.06. Old Dominion Freight Line had a return on equity of 29.40% and a net margin of 21.03%. Research analysts forecast that Old Dominion Freight Line will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Leo H. Suggs sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.44, for a total value of $676,320.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,383 shares in the company, valued at $1,664,423.52. This represents a 28.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Old Dominion Freight Line

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ODFL. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Old Dominion Freight Line by 109.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,435,228 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $285,094,000 after buying an additional 750,073 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in the 4th quarter valued at about $128,221,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 19,764.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 685,308 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $136,130,000 after purchasing an additional 681,858 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 74.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,022,812 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $207,068,000 after purchasing an additional 437,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,983,000. 77.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Old Dominion Freight Line

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.