UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Has $991,000 Stake in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) by 15.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 88,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,021 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.11% of Heartland Express worth $991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 55.6% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 560,300 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,287,000 after buying an additional 200,100 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 31.3% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 414,856 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,655,000 after buying an additional 98,866 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Express during the 4th quarter valued at $212,000. ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Express during the 4th quarter valued at $157,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 26,538 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 926 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd.

Heartland Express Trading Up 2.3%

HTLD opened at $8.99 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $706.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.30 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.08. Heartland Express, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $7.11 and a fifty-two week high of $13.67.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The transportation company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $219.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $241.37 million. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 2.84% and a negative return on equity of 3.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.19) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heartland Express

In related news, Director James G. Pratt purchased 6,571 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.96 per share, with a total value of $58,876.16. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 30,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $268,800. This trade represents a 28.05% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust bought 148,272 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $7.70 per share, for a total transaction of $1,141,694.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,046,856 shares in the company, valued at $8,060,791.20. This trade represents a 16.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 619,031 shares of company stock worth $5,125,232 over the last quarter. 40.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Heartland Express 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.