Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Announces Earnings Results, Meets Estimates

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) issued its earnings results on Friday. The transportation company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.11), Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $196.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $209.68 million. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 3.85% and a negative return on equity of 4.42%.

Heartland Express Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HTLD opened at $7.80 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.47. Heartland Express has a 52-week low of $7.11 and a 52-week high of $12.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $603.78 million, a PE ratio of -16.96 and a beta of 1.06.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 23rd. Heartland Express’s payout ratio is currently -17.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HTLD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays cut their target price on Heartland Express from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Zacks Research raised Heartland Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Heartland Express from $9.00 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $8.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heartland Express

In other news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin bought 24,798 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.19 per share, for a total transaction of $203,095.62. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 1,491,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,218,398.92. The trade was a 1.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 30,000 shares of company stock worth $245,752. 40.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Express

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in Heartland Express in the 1st quarter worth $907,000. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the second quarter valued at about $462,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 8.7% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 599,640 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,181,000 after acquiring an additional 47,917 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. bought a new stake in Heartland Express during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $191,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Heartland Express by 16.1% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 150,156 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 20,804 shares during the period. 53.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.