Do Hedge Funds and Insiders Love Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL)?

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) was in 20 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. ODFL investors should be aware of an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds in recent months. There were 13 hedge funds in our database with ODFL positions at the end of the previous quarter.

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are a multitude of indicators shareholders can use to monitor Mr. Market. Some of the best are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best fund managers can outclass the market by a healthy amount (see just how much).

Equally as integral, positive insider trading activity is a second way to parse down the investments you’re interested in. As the old adage goes: there are a number of incentives for an insider to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would buy. Various academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if piggybackers understand what to do (learn more here).

Consequently, let’s take a peek at the latest action surrounding Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL).

What have hedge funds been doing with Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL)?

At the end of the first quarter, a total of 20 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 54% from the first quarter. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings significantly.

Of the funds we track, Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, holds the biggest position in Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL). Citadel Investment Group has a $52.1 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by SAC Capital Advisors, managed by Steven Cohen, which held a $25.4 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining peers that are bullish include Jeffrey Vinik’s Vinik Asset Management, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and Bill Miller’s Legg Mason Capital Management.

Now, key hedge funds were leading the bulls’ herd. Echo Street Capital Management, managed by Greg Poole, established the most valuable position in Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL). Echo Street Capital Management had 7.6 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Anil Stevens and Glenn Shapiro’s Parameter Capital Management also made a $3.9 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new ODFL positions are Robert Bishop’s Impala Asset Management, Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management, and Thomas Bailard’s Bailard Inc.

How have insiders been trading Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL)?

Bullish insider trading is particularly usable when the company in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the last half-year time period, Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL). These stocks are Knight Transportation (NYSE:KNX), Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN), Con-way Inc (NYSE:CNW), Swift Transportation Co (NYSE:SWFT), and Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR). This group of stocks are the members of the trucking industry and their market caps are closest to ODFL’s market cap.

With the results demonstrated by our studies, retail investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

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