Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Price Target Lowered to $12.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) had its price target decreased by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $13.00 to $12.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the transportation company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 18.81% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Barclays cut their price target on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 1st. StockNews.com raised Heartland Express from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Heartland Express from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Heartland Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.50.

Heartland Express Stock Performance

Shares of HTLD opened at $10.10 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37. Heartland Express has a one year low of $10.00 and a one year high of $17.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $798.20 million, a P/E ratio of -59.41 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a fifty day moving average of $11.65 and a 200 day moving average of $12.84.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.19) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by ($0.07). Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 1.49% and a negative net margin of 1.13%. The firm had revenue of $270.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $263.92 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.16 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Heartland Express will post -0.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Heartland Express news, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust acquired 14,933 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $12.39 per share, for a total transaction of $185,019.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 159,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,980,727.35. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 39.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 115.0% in the third quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 394,367 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $5,793,000 after buying an additional 210,935 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the fourth quarter worth about $8,559,000. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 7.5% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 23,644 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 1,654 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 141.6% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 43,679 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $623,000 after buying an additional 25,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Heartland Express by 1.0% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 104,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,529,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.