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

Shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $13.00.

A number of research firms have issued reports on HTLD. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th.

Insider Transactions at Heartland Express

In other Heartland Express news, Director David Paul Millis sold 31,402 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.67, for a total transaction of $492,069.34. Following the transaction, the director owned 28,387 shares in the company, valued at approximately $444,824.29. This trade represents a 52.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 41.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Express during the fourth quarter worth $2,619,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 34.7% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 588,810 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,124,000 after purchasing an additional 151,589 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the second quarter valued at approximately $104,523,000. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 285.2% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 78,916 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $713,000 after purchasing an additional 58,428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 5.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,873,653 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $40,285,000 after purchasing an additional 201,151 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

Heartland Express Price Performance

NASDAQ:HTLD opened at $12.18 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $941.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.50 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $13.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.80. Heartland Express has a 52-week low of $6.99 and a 52-week high of $16.64.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The transportation company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter. Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 0.92% and a negative net margin of 2.98%.The company had revenue of $152.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $185.08 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.14) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Heartland Express will post 0.19 EPS for the current year.

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.