Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stake in Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR) by 31.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 82,091 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 36,984 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Landstar System worth $15,505,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Landstar System in the second quarter worth about $73,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in Landstar System by 431.3% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 441 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Landstar System in the second quarter valued at approximately $106,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Landstar System by 14.1% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 568 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Landstar System during the second quarter worth approximately $131,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.95% of the company’s stock.

Landstar System Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LSTR opened at $174.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 2.21. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $182.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $183.63. Landstar System, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $165.39 and a fifty-two week high of $200.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.90 and a beta of 0.82.

Landstar System (NASDAQ:LSTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.45 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.22 billion. Landstar System had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 20.68%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.71 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Landstar System, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

Landstar System Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors 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 Buying and Selling

In other Landstar System news, CFO James P. Todd sold 1,000 shares of Landstar System stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.32, for a total transaction of $184,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,595,778.56. The trade was a 6.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on LSTR shares. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Landstar System from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Landstar System from $176.00 to $174.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Landstar System from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Raymond James lowered Landstar System from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Landstar System from $184.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $174.25.

Landstar System 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.