Barclays Lowers Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Price Target to $8.00

Key Points

• Barclays has lowered the price target for Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) from $9.00 to $8.00, maintaining an "underweight" rating on the stock.
• Heartland Express reported a loss of ($0.14) per share for the most recent quarter, missing estimates and showing a revenue drop of 23.4% year-over-year.
• Despite recent downgrades, Heartland Express has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $9.70 according to MarketBeat.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Free Report) had its target price decreased by Barclays from $9.00 to $8.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an underweight rating on the transportation company's stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on HTLD. Baird R W upgraded Heartland Express to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $9.00 to $8.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Heartland Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $9.70.

Heartland Express Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Heartland Express stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $7.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 44,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 548,168. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $609.19 million, a PE ratio of -16.88 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a fifty day moving average of $8.64 and a 200 day moving average of $9.23. Heartland Express has a 1-year low of $7.11 and a 1-year high of $12.85.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The transportation company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $210.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $229.12 million. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 3.85% and a negative return on equity of 4.42%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.04) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Heartland Express will post 0.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director James G. Pratt purchased 6,571 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.96 per share, for a total transaction of $58,876.16. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 30,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $268,800. This trade represents a 28.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase 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 acquired 167,644 shares of Heartland Express stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $8.95 per share, with a total value of $1,500,413.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,214,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,869,775. This trade represents a 16.01% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 40.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 173.8% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,719 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,726 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 317.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,236 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 2,460 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Heartland Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $105,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Heartland Express during the fourth quarter worth about $134,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in Heartland Express by 1,261.6% in the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 12,472 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 11,556 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.45% of the company's stock.

About Heartland Express

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.