Dean Capital Management Sells 128,244 Shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)

Dean Capital Management lessened its holdings in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Free Report) by 59.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 87,637 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 128,244 shares during the quarter. Dean Capital Management owned 0.11% of Heartland Express worth $983,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Heartland Express during the fourth quarter worth about $1,566,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Heartland Express by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 581,271 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $6,522,000 after purchasing an additional 57,100 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new stake in Heartland Express during the fourth quarter worth $251,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Heartland Express by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 518,544 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $5,818,000 after purchasing an additional 42,364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in Heartland Express during the fourth quarter worth $387,000. Institutional investors own 53.45% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Heartland Express Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ HTLD traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $8.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 340,731 shares, compared to its average volume of 422,487. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.50. The stock has a market cap of $704.41 million, a P/E ratio of -24.24 and a beta of 1.04. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.11 and a 52 week high of $13.67. 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 (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The transportation company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $219.42 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $241.37 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.19) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Heartland Express's dividend payout ratio is currently -22.22%.

Insider Activity

In other Heartland Express news, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust purchased 148,272 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $7.70 per share, for a total transaction of $1,141,694.40. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 1,046,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,060,791.20. This trade represents a 16.50% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 40.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Heartland Express 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.