Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Stock Price Down 4.4% – Here’s Why

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)’s share price dropped 4.4% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $11.46 and last traded at $11.29. Approximately 96,333 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 346,168 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.81.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Heartland Express from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.75.

Heartland Express Trading Down 0.6 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $894.90 million, a P/E ratio of -39.31 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.02. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 2.11% and a negative return on equity of 2.70%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Heartland Express, Inc. will post -0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -27.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin bought 63,074 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $10.95 per share, with a total value of $690,660.30. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,259,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,794,722.40. This trade represents a 5.27 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust purchased 49,506 shares of Heartland Express stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $12.24 per share, with a total value of $605,953.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 898,584 shares in the company, valued at $10,998,668.16. The trade was a 5.83 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 153,750 shares of company stock worth $1,786,918 in the last 90 days. 39.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Express

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HTLD. CWM LLC grew 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. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Heartland Express in the fourth quarter valued at $75,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the third quarter worth about $124,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Express during the 2nd quarter worth about $166,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $171,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

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.