Voya Investment Management LLC Sells 1,460 Shares of Heartland Express, Inc. $HTLD

Voya Investment Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) by 9.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,055 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,460 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Heartland Express were worth $130,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HTLD. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Heartland Express by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 88,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $991,000 after purchasing an additional 12,021 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 317.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,236 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 2,460 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 173.8% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,719 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,726 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 149.2% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 48,681 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $449,000 after acquiring an additional 29,145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 66,459 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $613,000 after acquiring an additional 1,257 shares during the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heartland Express

In related news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin purchased 24,798 shares of Heartland Express stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.19 per share, for a total transaction of $203,095.62. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 1,491,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,218,398.92. The trade was a 1.69% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 30,000 shares of company stock worth $245,752. 40.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Heartland Express Price Performance

HTLD stock opened at $8.38 on Wednesday. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.11 and a 1 year high of $12.85. The company has a market cap of $648.70 million, a P/E ratio of -18.22 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $8.33 and a 200 day moving average of $8.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The transportation company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.06). Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 4.42% and a negative net margin of 3.85%.The business had revenue of $210.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $229.12 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.04) EPS. Heartland Express’s revenue for the quarter was down 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 EPS for the current year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 23rd. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -17.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HTLD shares. Baird R W upgraded shares of Heartland Express to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $9.00 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $9.70.

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.