Landstar Sets Quarterly Dividend; Authorizes Stock Purchases

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andstar System late Thursday said its board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of 2.5 cents per share and authorized the purchase of up to 2 million shares of its stock in open-market and privately negotiated transactions.

“This is the first cash dividend in Landstar's history as a publicly traded company," Landstar President and CEO Henry Gerkens said in a statement.

"This dividend, along with the increase to our share purchase program reflect the Board of Directors’ belief in Landstar's continued financial strength and commitment to building long-term stockholder value,” he said.

The dividend is payable on Aug. 31 to stockholders of record as of Aug. 17 and would pay out about $5.85 million per year if continued quarterly. The board's intention is to pay a comparable quarterly dividend going forward, Landstar said.

The new share purchase program authorization comes as Landstar has purchased 204,773 shares of its common stock during the month of July under its currently authorized program.

Landstar is ranked No. 14 on the Transport Topics 100 listing of U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.