Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Given New $10.00 Price Target at Barclays

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) had its price objective upped by Barclays from $9.00 to $10.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an underweight rating on the transportation company’s stock.

HTLD has been the topic of several other reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Robert W. Baird set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Heartland Express and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $9.00 price objective on shares of Heartland Express in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Heartland Express from $8.50 to $11.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $10.20.

Heartland Express Stock Down 0.9%

HTLD stock opened at $11.01 on Tuesday. Heartland Express has a one year low of $6.99 and a one year high of $12.13. The firm has a market cap of $852.72 million, a PE ratio of -16.19 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $10.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The transportation company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.01. Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 4.79% and a negative net margin of 6.51%.The company had revenue of $157.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $194.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.12) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Heartland Express will post 0.17 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Express

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jump Financial LLC grew its stake in Heartland Express by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 12,252 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 870 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 27,708 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 1,170 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Heartland Express by 76.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Heartland Express by 1.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 126,736 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,095,000 after buying an additional 1,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 11.7% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 14,504 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $125,000 after buying an additional 1,517 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.