Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Lowered to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Monday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on HTLD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd.

Heartland Express Stock Performance

Shares of HTLD stock opened at $7.72 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $8.92 and its 200 day moving average is $10.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $606.25 million, a P/E ratio of -20.86 and a beta of 0.97. Heartland Express has a 12 month low of $7.11 and a 12 month high of $13.67. 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 (NASDAQ:HTLD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The transportation company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.05). Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 3.57% and a negative net margin of 2.84%. The company had revenue of $219.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $241.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.19) earnings per share. Heartland Express’s revenue was down 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Heartland Express will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were issued a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently -22.22%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 326.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 83,848 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 64,185 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Heartland Express by 159.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 127,153 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,561,000 after acquiring an additional 78,237 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 39,395 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $442,000 after acquiring an additional 2,196 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $75,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 35.2% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 346,271 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,885,000 after purchasing an additional 90,100 shares during the period. 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.