Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

HTLD has been the subject of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $9.00 price target on shares of Heartland Express in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Heartland Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Heartland Express from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Heartland Express currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $9.75.

Heartland Express Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of Heartland Express stock opened at $10.09 on Friday. Heartland Express has a twelve month low of $6.99 and a twelve month high of $11.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company’s 50 day moving average is $9.48 and its 200 day moving average is $8.63. The company has a market cap of $781.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.42 and a beta of 1.13.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The transportation company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11). The business had revenue of $172.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $209.68 million. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 4.01% and a negative return on equity of 4.37%. Research analysts anticipate that Heartland Express will post 0.17 EPS for the current year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th were paid a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 26th. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently -17.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Express

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HTLD. Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Heartland Express by 24.4% during the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 53,948 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $466,000 after purchasing an additional 10,594 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Heartland Express by 13.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,408,307 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $12,168,000 after buying an additional 166,717 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Group LLC purchased a new position in Heartland Express during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,062,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Heartland Express by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,241,432 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $10,727,000 after acquiring an additional 128,702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gate City Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 167.6% during the 2nd quarter. Gate City Capital Management LLC now owns 1,611,581 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $13,924,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009,388 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

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.