Old Dominion (ODFL) Up 3.6% On Upbeat Q4 LTL Segment Update

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) has issued an update on the performance of its less-than-truckload (LTL) segment (generating major share of revenues) so far in the fourth quarter of 2018.

The company’s LTL tons per day increased 3.1% year over year in November, primarily owing to a 7% rise in LTL shipments per day. However, performance is said to be dampened partly due to a 3.6% decline in LTL weight per shipment. Meanwhile, LTL revenue per hundredweight rose 13.5% year over year so far this quarter.

Following this bullish fourth-quarter picture, shares of the company climbed 3.6% at the close of business on Dec 6.

Old Dominion has been benefiting from LTL segment’s (accounting for bulk of the company’s top line) solid performance. Evidently, during the third quarter of 2018, the company’s revenues improved 21.2% owing to a respective 8.1% and 12.5% rise in LTL tons and LTL revenue per hundredweight. The abovementioned performance highlights clearly show the uptrend is continuing and most likely to boost fourth-quarter results.

Notably, shares of the company have gained 2.9% in a year against the industry’s 11.4% decline.

Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks

Old Dominion carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Some other top-ranked stocks in the broader Transportation sector are ArcBest Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCB) , International Consolidated Airlines Group (LON:ICAG) SA (OTC:ICAGY) and CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) , each flaunting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Each of these stocks boasts an impressive earnings surprise history. While ArcBest and CSX surpassed estimates in each of the preceding four quarters, the average beat being 144.6% and 15.4%, respectively, the International Consolidated Airlines stock outshined the consensus mark in three of the last four quarters, the average beat being 92.9%.

Today's Stocks from Zacks' Hottest Strategies

It's hard to believe, even for us at Zacks. But while the market gained +21.9% in 2017, our top stock-picking screens have returned +115.0%, +109.3%, +104.9%, +98.6%, and +67.1%.

And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. Over the years it has been remarkably consistent. From 2000 - 2017, the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 19X over. Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we're willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation.

See Them Free>>