Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation, one has assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $9.75.

HTLD has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Heartland Express from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $12.00 price target on Heartland Express and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Baird R W raised shares of Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Heartland Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd.

Heartland Express Trading Down 2.6%

NASDAQ:HTLD opened at $10.39 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $804.71 million, a P/E ratio of -23.09 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $8.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.55. Heartland Express has a twelve month low of $6.99 and a twelve month high of $12.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The transportation company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11). Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 4.01% and a negative return on equity of 4.37%. The company had revenue of $172.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $209.68 million. As a group, analysts expect that Heartland Express will post 0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th were paid a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -17.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Express

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Heartland Express by 4.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 27,708 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 1,170 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in Heartland Express in the 1st quarter valued at $133,000. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Express during the 1st quarter valued at $907,000. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Express during the 1st quarter worth $515,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 25,680 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 1,751 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

Heartland Express Company Profile

Heartland Express, Inc (NASDAQ: HTLD) is a publicly traded truckload carrier headquartered in North Liberty, Iowa. The company specializes in full truckload transportation, offering dry-van services that connect shippers with customers across the continental United States. Its primary focus is on over-the-road freight movements, serving industries such as manufacturing, retail, and consumer goods.

Founded in 1978 as Heartland Motor Freight, the company has grown from a regional carrier into one of the larger U.S.