Baird has adjusted its outlook on Previous Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ: NASDAQ:), reducing the inventory’s value goal to $200 from the earlier $204.
Regardless of the discount, the agency maintained its Outperform score on the shares.
The adjustment comes because the analyst famous a continued freight recession, with expectations of sub-seasonal working ratio (OR) efficiency within the fourth quarter and additional degradation within the first quarter. The commentary highlights the prolonged period of the present downturn within the freight business.
Nonetheless, it isn’t all damaging for Previous Dominion Freight Line. The analyst identified that pricing stays rational, the corporate will not be shedding market share, and October quantity tendencies recommend a reconnection to seasonality firstly of the quarter, which might be a optimistic signal.
With the revised near-term estimates, the analyst believes that Previous Dominion Freight Line is now extra precisely valued, contemplating the present market situations. The agency additionally notes that ODFL possesses engaging earnings leverage that would profit the corporate throughout a market restoration.
In different current information, Previous Dominion Freight Line reported a modest beat in third-quarter earnings per share, though the outcomes had been marginally under expectations when excluding a tax profit. The corporate noticed a 3% decline in income to $1.47 billion and a 4.8% drop in less-than-truckload (LTL) tons per day.
Stephens, BofA Securities, and Barclays have revised their value targets for Previous Dominion, with Stephens sustaining its Chubby score and a $210 value goal, whereas BofA and Barclays decreased their targets to $195 and $190 respectively, each sustaining impartial rankings.
Previous Dominion additionally confronted a 7% decline in tons per day forecast for the fourth quarter of 2024 and an estimated fourth-quarter income of roughly $1.35 billion, marking a 9-10% lower year-over-year. The corporate additionally anticipates an increase in its working ratio to between 75.7% and 76.2%, which is much less favorable than the prior goal of 74.3%.
Regardless of present extra capability, Previous Dominion is anticipated to halt capital expenditures subsequent 12 months, which can help additional share buybacks—an initiative that has been elevated this 12 months. Nonetheless, a positive shift in LTL demand can be needed for Previous Dominion to realize a big enchancment in earnings.
InvestingPro Insights
Including to Baird’s evaluation, current knowledge from InvestingPro gives additional context on Previous Dominion Freight Line’s monetary place. The corporate’s market capitalization stands at $40.43 billion, reflecting its vital presence within the freight business. Regardless of the difficult freight setting famous by Baird, ODFL maintains a powerful monetary basis, as evidenced by an InvestingPro Tip indicating that the corporate holds more money than debt on its steadiness sheet.
In step with Baird’s commentary of ODFL’s greater valuation, InvestingPro knowledge reveals a P/E ratio of 34.88, suggesting traders are keen to pay a premium for the corporate’s shares. This aligns with one other InvestingPro Tip highlighting that ODFL is buying and selling at a excessive earnings a number of. Nonetheless, it is value noting that the corporate has demonstrated profitability during the last twelve months and analysts predict continued profitability this 12 months.
For traders looking for extra complete evaluation, InvestingPro presents 12 extra tips about ODFL, offering a deeper understanding of the corporate’s monetary well being and market place. These insights might be notably priceless because the freight business approaches what Baird suggests could be a cyclical inflection level.
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