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

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) has been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the seven research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $10.20.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on HTLD shares. Barclays lifted their target price 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. UBS Group raised their price objective on Heartland Express from $8.50 to $11.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Robert W. Baird set a $12.00 target price on Heartland Express and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st.

Heartland Express Stock Down 6.1%

NASDAQ:HTLD opened at $10.15 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $10.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.18. The company has a market capitalization of $786.22 million, a PE ratio of -14.93 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Heartland Express has a 1-year low of $6.99 and a 1-year high of $12.13.

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

Institutional Trading of Heartland Express

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HTLD. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,261 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings 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 worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 3,036 shares during the last quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC bought a new stake in Heartland Express in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $89,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Heartland Express in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $89,000. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.