Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 research note on Monday, February 12th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Two 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 has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $13.50.

Heartland Express Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ HTLD opened at $10.36 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.26. Heartland Express has a 12 month low of $10.00 and a 12 month high of $17.08.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last posted its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $270.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $263.92 million. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 1.13% and a negative return on equity of 1.50%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.16 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Heartland Express will post -0.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors 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 (DPR) is presently -47.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust bought 14,933 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $12.39 per share, for a total transaction of $185,019.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 159,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,980,727.35. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 39.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Express

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 115.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 394,367 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $5,793,000 after purchasing an additional 210,935 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,559,000. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in Heartland Express by 7.5% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 23,644 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,654 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Heartland Express by 141.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 43,679 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $623,000 after purchasing an additional 25,597 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in Heartland Express by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 104,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.