Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on HTLD. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research cut Heartland Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Heartland Express from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Heartland Express has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $13.00.

Heartland Express Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of HTLD stock opened at $11.64 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $900.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.57 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $12.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.90. Heartland Express has a twelve month low of $6.99 and a twelve month high of $16.64.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The transportation company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company 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 for the quarter was down 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.14) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Heartland Express will post 0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 25th. 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%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Express

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HTLD. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 18.1% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,525 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 999 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Heartland Express in the second quarter worth $34,000. Susquehanna International Group LLP boosted its holdings in Heartland Express by 13.0% in the second quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 27,476 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 3,165 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Heartland Express by 2.0% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 222,049 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,309,000 after purchasing an additional 4,313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in Heartland Express by 28.8% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 26,875 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 6,002 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

Heartland Express Company Profile

Heartland Express, Inc is a transportation and logistics company that provides asset-based truckload services in North America. The company primarily operates a fleet of dry van tractors and trailers, transporting general freight that does not require temperature control.

Its services include irregular-route and regional truckload transportation, dedicated freight, expedited shipping, and logistics support. Heartland Express serves customers across the United States and also provides cross-border transportation involving Canada and Mexico.

Founded in 1978, the company is headquartered in North Liberty, Iowa.