Landstar System (NASDAQ:LSTR) Sets New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR) hit a new 52-week low on Friday . The company traded as low as $165.31 and last traded at $167.09, with a volume of 15836 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $167.89.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LSTR. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Landstar System from $165.00 to $158.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Landstar System from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Landstar System from $184.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Landstar System from $176.00 to $174.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Stephens lowered their target price on Landstar System from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $174.25.

Landstar System Stock Down 0.5 %

The company has a 50-day moving average of $180.76 and a 200-day moving average of $182.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market capitalization of $5.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.66 and a beta of 0.83.

Landstar System (NASDAQ:LSTR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.45 by ($0.04). Landstar System had a return on equity of 20.68% and a net margin of 4.32%. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.71 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Landstar System, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Landstar System Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be paid a dividend of $2.00 per share. This is a boost from Landstar System’s previous special dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 7th. Landstar System’s payout ratio is presently 24.70%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO James P. Todd sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.32, for a total transaction of $184,320.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 14,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,595,778.56. This trade represents a 6.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Landstar System

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LSTR. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in Landstar System by 28.1% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 59,005 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,144,000 after purchasing an additional 12,931 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in shares of Landstar System in the third quarter worth approximately $1,228,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its stake in Landstar System by 419.3% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 3,682 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $695,000 after purchasing an additional 2,973 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in Landstar System by 3,775.2% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 334,853 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $63,243,000 after purchasing an additional 326,212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Landstar System by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 162,222 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,639,000 after purchasing an additional 12,894 shares in the last quarter. 97.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Landstar System Company Profile

Landstar System, Inc provides integrated transportation management solutions in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and internationally. It operates through two segments: Transportation Logistics and Insurance. The Transportation Logistics segment offers a range of transportation services, including truckload and less-than-truckload transportation, rail intermodal, air cargo, ocean cargo, expedited ground and air delivery of time-critical freight, heavy-haul/specialized, U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico cross-border, intra-Mexico, intra-Canada, project cargo, and customs brokerage, as well as offers transportation services to other transportation companies, such as third party logistics and less-than-truckload services.