Empowered Funds LLC Makes New Investment in Heartland Express, Inc. $HTLD

Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 356,418 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,425,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 151,589 shares during the period. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Heartland Express during the 4th quarter worth $2,619,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Express during the 2nd quarter valued at $104,523,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Heartland Express by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,873,653 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $40,285,000 after acquiring an additional 201,151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Heartland Express by 285.2% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 78,916 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $713,000 after acquiring an additional 58,428 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

Heartland Express Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of HTLD stock opened at $12.36 on Tuesday. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 12-month low of $6.99 and a 12-month high of $16.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $13.72 and a 200-day moving average of $12.80. The company has a market capitalization of $955.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -44.14 and a beta of 1.33.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The transportation company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $152.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $185.08 million. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 2.98% and a negative return on equity of 0.92%. The firm’s revenue was down 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.14) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on HTLD shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Barclays dropped their price objective on Heartland Express from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Heartland Express from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.00.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $492,069.34. Following the sale, the director directly owned 28,387 shares in the company, valued at $444,824.29. The trade was a 52.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 41.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.