JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has Lowered Expectations for Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Stock Price

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) had its price target cut by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $10.00 to $9.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “underweight” rating on the transportation company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 15.38% from the company’s previous close.

Separately, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd.

Heartland Express Stock Performance

Shares of HTLD stock opened at $7.80 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Heartland Express has a 12-month low of $7.11 and a 12-month high of $13.67. The business’s 50 day moving average is $8.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.66. The company has a market capitalization of $612.53 million, a P/E ratio of -21.08 and a beta of 0.97.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The transportation company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $219.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $241.37 million. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 2.84% and a negative return on equity of 3.57%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.19) EPS. Analysts expect that Heartland Express will post 0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Express

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HTLD. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Heartland Express by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,506,139 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $39,338,000 after acquiring an additional 123,399 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 898,289 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $10,079,000 after purchasing an additional 45,732 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Heartland Express by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 730,368 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $8,195,000 after buying an additional 63,493 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Heartland Express by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 696,823 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,818,000 after buying an additional 157,892 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Heartland Express by 93.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 591,755 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,639,000 after buying an additional 285,838 shares in the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is 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.