Stifel likens Old Dominion to a fundamentally sound basketball team

Investment group’s transportation and logistics team compared the LTL carrier’s long-term performance to a team that focuses well on the basics and eschews fancy passes and dunks.    The investment bank Stifel’s transportation and logistics group compared Old Dominion Freight Line’s consistent top-line performance to a basketball team that focuses on getting the fundamentals right.
   The North Carolina-based less-than-truckload carrier on Thursday posted strong third quarter and year-to-date increases in net profits.
   “In our view, the ‘secret’ to Old Dominion’s success is that there is no secret — the company just does the basics better and executes more consistently than its competitors,” Stifel wrote in a note to investors. “It’s not about the no-look behind-the-back pass, 360 dunk, or off-balance NBA-range three pointer. It’s fundamentals like moving without the ball, finding the open man, and boxing out under the boards, all while taking high-percentage shots, that wins.”
   To NBA fans, that might sound a lot like the San Antonio Spurs, a team that has won five league championships since 1999 by emphasizing team play over flashy superstars, and haven’t missed the playoffs in the 18 seasons since drafting future Hall-of-Famer Tim Duncan in 1997.
   Stifel also noted that Old Dominion’s customers are modifying their shipping patterns to “smaller, more frequent LTL shipments.”