Cheap Gasoline Is Not Enough to Get Hedge Funds Into Trucking Stocks

The number of investors from our database long Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) increased to 24 from 18 during the second quarter, but the total value of their holdings slid to $140.95 million from $217.67 million and represented just 2.80% of the float at the end of June. The stock is up by over 19% since the beginning of the year, mainly due to gains registered since the beginning of July. The company’s second-quarter results managed to beat estimates for both EPS and revenue for the first time in five quarters. Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) reported earnings of $0.98 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 per share, while its revenue of $755.44 million, was down by 0.9% on the year, but topped the expectations by $1.35 million.

In YRC Worldwide Inc (NASDAQ:YRCW) the number of long positions declined by three to 20 during the April-June period, while the total value of these holdings fell to $76.21 million from $90.66 million and represented 26% of the float. Among the five stocks discussed in this article, YRC Worldwide is the only stock in this list that is trading in the red year-to-date. The stock has lost 12% since the beginning of the year, mainly due to a 30% drop in the first two months amid the company reporting a loss of $0.73 per share for the fourth quarter of 2015, compared to expected profit of $0.20 per share. YRC Worldwide Inc (NASDAQ:YRCW) will report its financial results for the third quarter on October 27 and the consensus among analysts includes earnings of $0.54 per share on revenue of $1.22 billion.

Among the funds in our database, 16 funds amassed $193.04 million worth of Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR) shares at the end of the second quarter, compared to 17 funds holding $209.60 million worth of stock a quarter earlier. The stock is up by 14% year-to-date and sports a dividend of 0.54%, which makes him the second of the two dividend-paying stocks in this list (the first one is J B Hunt). Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR) reported a profit of $0.76 per share for the second quarter, missing the consensus forecast of $0.81 per share. Its revenue of  $775.22 million declined by 10.7% on the year and also missed analyst expectations by $12.69 million.

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