Insider Buying: Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) CEO Purchases 5,210 Shares of Stock

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) CEO Michael J. Gerdin acquired 5,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $11.49 per share, with a total value of $59,862.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,265,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,534,872.98. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Heartland Express Stock Up 9.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ HTLD traded up $1.00 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $11.88. 661,235 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 348,406. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.78. The stock has a market cap of $932.58 million, a P/E ratio of -40.97 and a beta of 0.71. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 1-year low of $9.63 and a 1-year high of $14.60.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.11). Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 2.70% and a negative net margin of 2.11%. The company had revenue of $259.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $268.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.14) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Heartland Express, Inc. will post -0.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on HTLD shares. Barclays lowered their target price on Heartland Express from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. StockNews.com raised shares of Heartland Express from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $10.00 price target (down from $12.00) on shares of Heartland Express in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 5.3% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 256,171 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,146,000 after acquiring an additional 12,998 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Heartland Express by 67.2% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 53,597 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $658,000 after purchasing an additional 21,539 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Heartland Express by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 37,199 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 4,771 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 85.7% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,069 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 2,340 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the 3rd quarter worth about $305,000. 53.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Heartland Express

Heartland Express, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a short-to-medium, and long-haul truckload carrier in the United States and Canada. It primarily provides nationwide asset-based dry van truckload service for shippers; cross-border freight and other transportation services; and temperature-controlled truckload services.