StockNews.com Downgrades Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) to Sell

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on HTLD. Barclays cut their price target on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $13.50.

Heartland Express Stock Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ HTLD opened at $10.33 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $816.38 million, a PE ratio of 57.39 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $11.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.86. Heartland Express has a fifty-two week low of $10.00 and a fifty-two week high of $17.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12) by ($0.07). Heartland Express had a net margin of 1.22% and a return on equity of 1.71%. The firm had revenue of $270.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $263.92 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.16 earnings per share. Heartland Express’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Heartland Express will post -0.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 26th were paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 25th. Heartland Express’s payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

Insider Transactions at Heartland Express

In other news, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust acquired 14,933 shares of Heartland Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $12.39 per share, for a total transaction of $185,019.87. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 159,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,980,727.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 39.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 26,561 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 970 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Heartland Express by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 104,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,529,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Heartland Express by 5.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 29,391 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $432,000 after buying an additional 1,497 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in Heartland Express by 7.5% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 23,644 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 1,654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 10.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 27,878 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $409,000 after acquiring an additional 2,693 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

Heartland Express Company Profile

Heartland Express, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a short-to-medium, and long-haul truckload carrier in the United States and Canada. It primarily provides nationwide asset-based dry van truckload service for shippers; cross-border freight and other transportation services; and temperature-controlled truckload services.