Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) Major Shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust Buys 8,089 Shares

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust purchased 8,089 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $10.74 per share, for a total transaction of $86,875.86. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 849,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,119,097.72. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, April 29th, Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust acquired 93,496 shares of Heartland Express stock. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $10.12 per share, with a total value of $946,179.52.
• On Friday, April 26th, Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust bought 88,100 shares of Heartland Express stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $10.44 per share, for a total transaction of $919,764.00.
• On Thursday, February 22nd, Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust purchased 14,933 shares of Heartland Express stock. The stock was bought at an average price of $12.39 per share, with a total value of $185,019.87.

Heartland Express Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:HTLD traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $10.94. The stock had a trading volume of 497,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 358,951. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 1-year low of $9.63 and a 1-year high of $17.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.57.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $263.92 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.16 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Heartland Express, Inc. will post -0.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 26th were issued a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 25th. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -47.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Heartland Express from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 26,561 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 970 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its position in Heartland Express by 115.0% in the third quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 394,367 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $5,793,000 after buying an additional 210,935 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates acquired a new stake in Heartland Express in the fourth quarter worth $8,559,000. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 7.5% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 23,644 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,654 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 141.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 43,679 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $623,000 after acquiring an additional 25,597 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.