Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Invests $1.57 Million in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 139,548 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $1,566,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned approximately 0.18% of Heartland Express at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Heartland Express in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the fourth quarter worth about $75,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the fourth quarter worth about $79,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the fourth quarter worth about $105,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the fourth quarter worth about $134,000. 53.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HTLD has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Heartland Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st.

Insider Activity at Heartland Express

In related news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin acquired 148,272 shares of Heartland Express stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $7.85 per share, with a total value of $1,163,935.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,461,868 shares in the company, valued at $11,475,663.80. This trade represents a 11.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director James G. Pratt acquired 6,571 shares of Heartland Express stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.96 per share, for a total transaction of $58,876.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 30,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $268,800. This trade represents a 28.05% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 619,031 shares of company stock worth $5,125,232 in the last three months. 40.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Heartland Express Price Performance

HTLD stock traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $9.06. The company had a trading volume of 680,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 429,933. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.11 and a 1 year high of $13.67. The company has a market capitalization of $711.70 million, a P/E ratio of -24.49 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $8.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.44.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last announced 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 the consensus estimate of $241.37 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.19) earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. Heartland Express's dividend payout ratio is currently -22.22%.

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.