JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Price Target to $10.00

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) had its price target hoisted by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $9.00 to $10.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “underweight” rating on the transportation company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target suggests a potential downside of 23.25% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $9.00 price target on shares of Heartland Express in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a report on Friday, March 27th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Heartland Express currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $11.20.

Heartland Express Price Performance

HTLD opened at $13.03 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. Heartland Express has a 1 year low of $6.99 and a 1 year high of $13.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of -23.27 and a beta of 1.11.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.07. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 5.69% and a negative return on equity of 3.68%. The firm had revenue of $176.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $177.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.18) earnings per share. Heartland Express’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Heartland Express will post -0.24 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Express

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HTLD. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,905 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,261 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 185.5% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,673 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 3,036 shares during the last quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the third quarter worth $89,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the third quarter worth $89,000. Institutional investors own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

More Heartland Express News

Here are the key news stories impacting Heartland Express this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 EPS beat consensus: Heartland reported a $0.06 loss per share vs. a consensus loss of $0.13, a meaningful beat that suggests improving profitability trends. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Operating performance and balance-sheet improvements: Management reported a 490 bp improvement in operating ratio vs. Q1 2025, reduced acquisition-related debt substantially (from $494.1M in 2022 to $149.9M) and eliminated Smith Transport debt. These items support margin recovery and lower financial risk. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade/target raise from Robert W. Baird: Baird raised its price target to $15 and keeps an “Outperform” rating, signaling upside potential and likely contributing to buying interest. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage and analysis notes: Several outlet snapshots and metric analyses (Zacks, Chron) provide deeper context on margins, fleet metrics and seasonal demand — useful for longer-horizon investors but less likely to move price intraday. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue miss and YoY decline: Revenue of $176.3M slightly missed estimates (~$177.3M) and was down ~19.7% year-over-year, indicating demand weakness that could pressure near-term earnings recovery. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Mixed/downgrade signal from JPMorgan: JPMorgan raised its target to $10 but kept an “Underweight” rating — the target implies notable downside vs. the current price and may cap upside for more cautious investors. Article Title

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.