Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $13.50.

Heartland Express Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HTLD opened at $10.33 on Wednesday. Heartland Express has a 52-week low of $10.00 and a 52-week high of $17.08. The stock has a market cap of $816.38 million, a P/E ratio of 57.39 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a fifty day moving average of $11.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12) by ($0.07). Heartland Express had a net margin of 1.22% and a return on equity of 1.71%. The firm had revenue of $270.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $263.92 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.16 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Heartland Express will post -0.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 26th were given a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 25th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust purchased 14,933 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $12.39 per share, for a total transaction of $185,019.87. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 159,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,980,727.35. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 39.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Express

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 99.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,224,494 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $17,988,000 after purchasing an additional 609,769 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,559,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Heartland Express by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,172,549 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $45,241,000 after acquiring an additional 264,313 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 115.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 394,367 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,793,000 after acquiring an additional 210,935 shares during the period. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Heartland Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,662,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

About Heartland Express

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.