Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) Receives $9.75 Consensus PT from Analysts

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $9.75.

HTLD has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $9.00 price target on Heartland Express in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Barclays upped their price objective on Heartland Express from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Robert W. Baird set a $12.00 target price on Heartland Express and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a report on Monday, December 22nd.

Heartland Express Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HTLD opened at $10.18 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $788.44 million, a P/E ratio of -22.62 and a beta of 1.13. Heartland Express has a twelve month low of $6.99 and a twelve month high of $12.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $9.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The transportation company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $172.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $209.68 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Heartland Express will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current 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. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 26th. Heartland Express’s payout ratio is currently -17.78%.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Express

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 185.5% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,673 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 3,036 shares during the period. Autumn Glory Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Heartland Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $89,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Heartland Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $89,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Heartland Express by 51.3% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,549 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 3,918 shares during the period. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $101,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

About Heartland Express

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.