Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) Shares Bought by Bridgeway Capital Management LLC

Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Free Report) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 581,271 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 57,100 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC owned 0.74% of Heartland Express worth $6,522,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 93.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 591,755 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $6,639,000 after buying an additional 285,838 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Heartland Express in the fourth quarter worth about $2,694,000. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Heartland Express by 100.8% during the 4th quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC now owns 365,421 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $4,100,000 after acquiring an additional 183,450 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Heartland Express by 126.8% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 288,375 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $3,236,000 after acquiring an additional 161,222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Heartland Express by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 696,823 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $7,818,000 after purchasing an additional 157,892 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 53.45% of the company's stock.

Heartland Express Stock Up 1.2 %

HTLD traded up $0.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $8.46. The stock had a trading volume of 1,102,260 shares, compared to its average volume of 419,456. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.08. Heartland Express, Inc. has a twelve month low of $7.11 and a twelve month high of $13.67. The company has a market capitalization of $664.36 million, a PE ratio of -22.86 and a beta of 1.04.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The transportation company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.05). Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 3.57% and a negative net margin of 2.84%. The business had revenue of $219.42 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $241.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.19) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were issued a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Heartland Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -22.22%.

Insider Activity at Heartland Express

In related news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin purchased 148,272 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $7.85 per share, for a total transaction of $1,163,935.20. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,461,868 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,475,663.80. This trade represents a 11.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 40.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Heartland Express from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Heartland Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th.

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.