Short Interest in Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR) Drops By 19.5%

Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 981,900 shares, a decline of 19.5% from the March 15th total of 1,220,000 shares. Currently, 2.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 355,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Landstar System Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of LSTR traded down $2.29 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $135.53. 354,476 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 283,157. Landstar System has a 1 year low of $128.99 and a 1 year high of $196.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.55 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $149.63 and its 200-day moving average is $168.41.

Landstar System (NASDAQ:LSTR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The transportation company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.04). Landstar System had a return on equity of 19.56% and a net margin of 4.07%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Landstar System will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Landstar System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. Landstar System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Landstar System

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Landstar System by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,750 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $713,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Landstar System by 12.6% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,108 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $166,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in Landstar System by 1.7% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 6,135 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $921,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management raised its position in Landstar System by 6.6% in the first quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 23,759 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,569,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in shares of Landstar System during the 1st quarter worth $505,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LSTR has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Landstar System from $160.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Landstar System from $162.00 to $147.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Landstar System from $170.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Landstar System in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Landstar System from $177.00 to $147.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $156.92.

About Landstar System

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.