Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $12.80.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HTLD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th.

Heartland Express Stock Up 5.4%

HTLD opened at $15.30 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $14.75 and a 200-day moving average of $12.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.32 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Heartland Express has a 1-year low of $6.99 and a 1-year high of $16.64.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The transportation company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.07. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 5.69% and a negative return on equity of 3.70%. The business had revenue of $153.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $177.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.18) earnings per share. Heartland Express’s revenue was down 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Heartland Express will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were given a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Heartland Express’s payout ratio is currently -14.29%.

Insider Activity at Heartland Express

In related news, Director David Paul Millis sold 31,402 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.67, for a total value of $492,069.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 28,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $444,824.29. This trade represents a 52.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 41.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Heartland Express during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 76.7% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,905 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,261 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in 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 valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 3,036 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Heartland Express by 51.3% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Heartland Express by 18.1% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,525 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 999 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.