Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Trading Down 3% – Here’s What Happened

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLDGet Free Report)’s stock price dropped 3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $11.17 and last traded at $11.13. Approximately 25,001 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 319,070 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.47.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HTLD. UBS Group decreased their price target on Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Heartland Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.75.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on HTLD

Heartland Express Stock Down 2.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $877.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.60 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $11.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.93.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLDGet Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.11). Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 2.11% and a negative return on equity of 2.70%. The business had revenue of $259.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $268.35 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.14) EPS. Heartland Express’s revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Heartland Express, Inc. will post -0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Heartland Express’s payout ratio is currently -27.59%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin purchased 5,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $11.49 per share, for a total transaction of $59,862.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,265,002 shares in the company, valued at $14,534,872.98. This represents a 0.41 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust acquired 49,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $12.24 per share, for a total transaction of $605,953.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 898,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,998,668.16. This represents a 5.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders purchased 153,750 shares of company stock worth $1,786,918. Company insiders own 39.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Express

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Heartland Express by 85.7% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,069 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 2,340 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Heartland Express during the third quarter worth $124,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the second quarter worth $166,000. Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the third quarter valued at $202,000. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 33.3% in the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 19,245 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 4,808 shares in the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Heartland Express Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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