Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $14.60 and last traded at $14.59, with a volume of 21439 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HTLD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Heartland Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Heartland Express in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Heartland Express currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $12.20.

Heartland Express Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $11.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of -26.27 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The transportation company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $153.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $177.30 million. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 5.69% and a negative return on equity of 3.70%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.18) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTLD. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Heartland Express in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Heartland Express by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,905 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,261 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Heartland Express by 185.5% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,673 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 3,036 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Heartland Express in the third quarter worth $89,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Heartland Express by 51.3% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,549 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 3,918 shares in the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.