Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Stock Price Down 5% – Here’s What Happened

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)’s stock price was down 5% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $12.81 and last traded at $12.7920. Approximately 35,290 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 498,958 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.47.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on HTLD shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $11.60.

Heartland Express Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $10.90 and its 200-day moving average is $9.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $967.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.29 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.07. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 5.69% and a negative return on equity of 3.68%. The firm had revenue of $153.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $177.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.18) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Heartland Express, Inc. will post -0.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 24th were issued a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 24th. Heartland Express’s payout ratio is presently -14.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTLD. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Heartland Express by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 27,708 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 1,170 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in Heartland Express during the 1st quarter worth approximately $133,000. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in Heartland Express during the 1st quarter worth approximately $907,000. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in Heartland Express during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $462,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Heartland Express by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 126,736 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,095,000 after acquiring an additional 1,262 shares during the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.