Insider Buying: Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) CEO Purchases $10,774.80 in Stock

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) CEO Michael Gerdin purchased 1,314 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $8.20 per share, for a total transaction of $10,774.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,463,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,998,092.40. This represents a 0.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Heartland Express Stock Down 3.8%

Heartland Express stock opened at $8.11 on Thursday. Heartland Express, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $7.11 and a fifty-two week high of $12.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $8.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.02. The stock has a market cap of $627.78 million, a PE ratio of -17.63 and a beta of 1.06.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The transportation company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $210.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $229.12 million. Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 4.42% and a negative net margin of 3.85%.Heartland Express’s quarterly revenue was down 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.04) EPS. Research analysts predict that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays cut their price objective on Heartland Express from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $9.00 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Heartland Express currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $9.70.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Heartland Express by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,506,139 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $39,338,000 after purchasing an additional 123,399 shares during the last quarter. Gate City Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 167.6% in the second quarter. Gate City Capital Management LLC now owns 1,611,581 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $13,924,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009,388 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Heartland Express by 13.4% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,408,307 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $12,168,000 after purchasing an additional 166,717 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Heartland Express by 11.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,241,432 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $10,727,000 after purchasing an additional 128,702 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 959,257 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,844,000 after buying an additional 60,968 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

Heartland Express Company Profile

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.