Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Sells 314 Shares of The ODP Co. (NASDAQ:ODP)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lessened its position in The ODP Co. (NASDAQ:ODP) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,527 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 314 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC owned about 0.07% of ODP worth $1,550,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of ODP during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,000,000. CX Institutional acquired a new position in shares of ODP in the third quarter valued at $3,212,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of ODP by 5.4% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 8,962 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $414,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the period. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of ODP during the 3rd quarter worth about $202,000. Finally, Bailard Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ODP by 34.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 8,500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the period. 99.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on ODP shares. TheStreet cut ODP from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of ODP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.00.

Insider Activity at ODP

In related news, CFO Diego Anthony Scaglione sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total value of $1,375,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 96,104 shares in the company, valued at $5,285,720. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

ODP Price Performance

Shares of ODP stock traded down $0.83 on Wednesday, hitting $51.48. 57,254 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 306,430. The company has a 50 day moving average of $51.90 and a 200 day moving average of $50.27. The stock has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The ODP Co. has a 12 month low of $39.36 and a 12 month high of $58.98.

ODP (NASDAQ:ODP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The specialty retailer reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. ODP had a return on equity of 19.45% and a net margin of 1.77%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that The ODP Co. will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

ODP announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 28th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to buy up to 48.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

ODP Profile

The ODP Corporation provides business services and supplies, products, and digital workplace technology solutions for small, medium, and enterprise businesses in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The company operates through four divisions: ODP Business Solutions, Office Depot, Veyer, and Varis.