Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) will raise its quarterly dividend by a third to 20 cents per share in 2021. Last year the company announced a dividend hike of 35.3 percent to $0.23 per share in the first quarter of 2020 with a small dividend cut back to a split adjusted 15 cents in the next quarter, bringing the 2020 dividend hike to 32.4 percent.

The next dividend is payable on March 17, 2021, to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 3, 2021. A new annualized dividend rate of 80 cents per share yields 0.4% at a stock price of $209.

In its press release the company comments on the dividend hike: "The Company’s Board of Directors has declared a first-quarter dividend of $0.20 per share, payable on March 17, 2021, to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 3, 2021. After giving effect to the Company’s March 2020 three-for-two stock split, this dividend payment represents a 33.3% increase to the quarterly cash dividend paid in the first quarter of 2020."

Old Dominion Freight Line will now pay its shareholders an estimated $94 million in dividends. Dividends have been boosted by more than 30 percent annually in each of the last four years.

Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. is a leading, less-than-truckload (“LTL”), union-free motor carrier providing regional, inter-regional and national LTL services. The company's service offerings, which include expedited transportation, are provided through an network of service centers located throughout the continental United States. Through alliances, the company also provides LTL services throughout North America. In addition to its core LTL services, Old Dominion also offers other services including container drayage, truckload brokerage and supply chain consulting. Old Dominion Freight Line became a public company in 1991 and has paid a dividend since 2017.