Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Sets New 12-Month Low at $9.88

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $9.88 and last traded at $9.98, with a volume of 905166 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $10.36.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HTLD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays lowered their price target on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 1st. StockNews.com cut Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Heartland Express from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.50.

Heartland Express Trading Down 3.9 %

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $787.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -60.76 and a beta of 0.62.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12) by ($0.07). Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 1.50% and a negative net margin of 1.13%. The firm had revenue of $270.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $263.92 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.16 EPS. Heartland Express’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Heartland Express, Inc. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 26th were given a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 25th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -47.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heartland Express

In related news, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust purchased 14,933 shares of Heartland Express stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $12.39 per share, for a total transaction of $185,019.87. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 159,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,980,727.35. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 39.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Heartland Express by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 26,561 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 970 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 1.0% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 104,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 5.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 29,391 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 1,497 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 7.5% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 23,644 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 10.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 27,878 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 2,693 shares during the last quarter. 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.