Barclays Cuts Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Price Target to $10.00

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) had its target price trimmed by Barclays from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underweight rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Heartland Express from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Heartland Express from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $13.25.

Heartland Express Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of HTLD stock opened at $10.77 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $851.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -63.35 and a beta of 0.66. Heartland Express has a 52-week low of $9.63 and a 52-week high of $17.08. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.63.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last released its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $270.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $263.92 million. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 1.13% and a negative return on equity of 1.50%. The business’s revenue was down 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.16 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Heartland Express will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 26th were issued a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 25th. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -47.06%.

Insider Transactions at Heartland Express

In other Heartland Express news, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust purchased 14,933 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 purchase, the insider now 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 available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin acquired 14,109 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $10.24 per share, with a total value of $144,476.16. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 196,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,012,303.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust bought 14,933 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $12.39 per share, with a total value of $185,019.87. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 159,865 shares in the company, valued at $1,980,727.35. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 403,334 shares of company stock worth $4,227,955 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 39.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Heartland Express by 133.2% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 18,082 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 10,327 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 99.2% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,224,494 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $17,988,000 after purchasing an additional 609,769 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Heartland Express by 7.5% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 23,644 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 1,654 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Heartland Express by 5.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 29,391 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $432,000 after buying an additional 1,497 shares during the period. Finally, Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in Heartland Express during the third quarter worth about $612,000. 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.