Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.28

Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 5th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of 0.28 per share by the transportation company on Wednesday, March 19th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. This is an increase from Old Dominion Freight Line’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26.

Old Dominion Freight Line has raised its dividend payment by an average of 37.5% annually over the last three years. Old Dominion Freight Line has a payout ratio of 15.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Old Dominion Freight Line to earn $5.76 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.04 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 18.1%.

Old Dominion Freight Line Trading Up 6.8 %

NASDAQ:ODFL traded up $12.54 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $196.20. 467,680 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,372,098. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.33. The company has a fifty day moving average of $191.82 and a 200 day moving average of $197.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.24, a PEG ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 1.05. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The transportation company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.06. Old Dominion Freight Line had a net margin of 21.03% and a return on equity of 29.40%. On average, research analysts predict that Old Dominion Freight Line will post 5.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Old Dominion Freight Line

In related news, Director Leo H. Suggs sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.44, for a total transaction of $676,320.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,664,423.52. This trade represents a 28.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 9.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Old Dominion Freight Line from $213.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Susquehanna reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $195.00 target price (down previously from $218.00) on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays dropped their price target 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, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $204.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $202.44.

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.