Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Stock Rating Cut to "Neutral" at Robert W. Baird

Key Points

• Robert W. Baird downgraded Heartland Express to “neutral” from “outperform” and lowered its price target to $12 from $16, implying roughly 14% upside from the reported share price.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly negative, with a consensus “reduce” rating and an average price target of $12.40; four analysts rate the stock “hold” and three rate it “sell.”
• Heartland Express reported quarterly revenue of $152.38 million, below the $185.08 million analyst estimate, while revenue fell 12.5% year over year despite posting $0.14 in EPS.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Robert W. Baird from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $12.00 price objective on the transportation company's stock, down from their prior price objective of $16.00. Robert W. Baird's target price would suggest a potential upside of 13.96% from the stock's current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays cut their price objective on Heartland Express from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Heartland Express in a report on Monday, September 21st. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Heartland Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 19th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Heartland Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Heartland Express currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $12.40.

Heartland Express Trading Down 3.8%

NASDAQ:HTLD opened at $10.53 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Heartland Express has a 1-year low of $6.99 and a 1-year high of $16.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $814.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.61 and a beta of 1.35. The business's 50-day moving average price is $11.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.08.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The transportation company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 0.92% and a negative net margin of 2.98%. The company had revenue of $152.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $185.08 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.14) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Heartland Express will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Heartland Express during the second quarter worth approximately $104,523,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Heartland Express by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,873,653 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $40,285,000 after acquiring an additional 201,151 shares in the last quarter. Wallace Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Express during the 2nd quarter valued at $14,687,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 34.7% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 588,810 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $6,124,000 after acquiring an additional 151,589 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Express during the 2nd quarter worth $5,425,000. Institutional investors own 53.45% of the company's stock.

About Heartland Express

Heartland Express, Inc NASDAQ: HTLD is a transportation and logistics company that provides truckload freight services across North America. Its operations primarily involve the over-the-road movement of general, non-refrigerated freight using dry van equipment.

The company offers irregular-route and dedicated transportation services to shippers, along with logistics and related freight solutions. Heartland Express serves customers throughout the contiguous United States and, through its broader network, supports cross-border freight movements involving Canada and Mexico.

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

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