Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Heartland Express from “buy” to “hold,” while the broader analyst consensus is “Reduce” with an average price target of $13.00.
• Heartland Express reported quarterly EPS of $0.14, but revenue of $152.38 million fell short of the $185.08 million estimate and declined 12.5% year over year.
• HTLD shares opened at $11.87, below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages of $12.94 and $12.88, respectively; institutional investors own 53.45% of the stock.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on HTLD. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research cut shares of Heartland Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Heartland Express in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Heartland Express has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $13.00.

Heartland Express Price Performance

Shares of HTLD stock opened at $11.87 on Friday. Heartland Express has a 52 week low of $6.99 and a 52 week high of $16.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $917.91 million, a PE ratio of -42.39 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock's fifty day moving average is $12.94 and its 200-day moving average is $12.88.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The transportation company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $152.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $185.08 million. Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 0.92% and a negative net margin of 2.98%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.14) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Heartland Express will post 0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in Heartland Express in the second quarter valued at approximately $289,000. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new stake in Heartland Express during the 2nd quarter worth $165,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in Heartland Express during the 2nd quarter worth $976,000. Susquehanna International Group LLP raised its position in shares of Heartland Express by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 27,476 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 3,165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Express during the 2nd quarter valued at $5,425,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.45% of the company's stock.

Heartland Express Company Profile

Heartland Express, Inc is a transportation and logistics company that provides asset-based truckload services in North America. The company primarily operates a fleet of dry van tractors and trailers, transporting general freight that does not require temperature control.

Its services include irregular-route and regional truckload transportation, dedicated freight, expedited shipping, and logistics support. Heartland Express serves customers across the United States and also provides cross-border transportation involving Canada and Mexico.

Founded in 1978, the company is headquartered in North Liberty, Iowa.

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