Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Price Target Raised to $12.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) had its price target upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $11.00 to $12.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Heartland Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.20.

Heartland Express Trading Down 3.9%

Shares of Heartland Express stock opened at $12.23 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.54. Heartland Express has a fifty-two week low of $6.99 and a fifty-two week high of $16.64. The firm has a market cap of $947.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.68 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The transportation company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 0.92% and a negative net margin of 2.98%.The firm had revenue of $184.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $185.08 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.14) earnings per share. Heartland Express’s revenue was down 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Heartland Express will post 0.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were paid a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -28.57%.

Insider Transactions at Heartland Express

In other Heartland Express news, Director David Paul Millis sold 31,402 shares of the business’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 sale, the director owned 28,387 shares in the company, valued at approximately $444,824.29. The trade was a 52.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 41.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,619,000. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Heartland Express by 285.2% in the 4th 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 during the period. Dean Capital Management grew its position in Heartland Express by 73.9% during the 4th quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 136,909 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,236,000 after purchasing an additional 58,167 shares in the last quarter. Gate City Capital Management LLC grew its position in Heartland Express by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Gate City Capital Management LLC now owns 2,192,807 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $19,801,000 after purchasing an additional 167,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its position in Heartland Express by 90.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 529,514 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,782,000 after purchasing an additional 251,670 shares in the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.