Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Takes $5.40 Million Position in Heartland Express, Inc. $HTLD

Key Points

• Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired 585,260 shares of Heartland Express, worth approximately $5.4 million, becoming a 0.75% stakeholder in the company.
• Several analysts have downgraded Heartland Express's stock ratings, with JPMorgan, Barclays, and Wall Street Zen setting lower price targets and ratings ranging from "underweight" to "sell."
• Heartland Express posted a loss of ($0.14) earnings per share in its most recent quarter, missing expectations, with revenue declining by 23.4% year-over-year.

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 585,260 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $5,396,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned 0.75% of Heartland Express as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,506,139 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $39,338,000 after purchasing an additional 123,399 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Heartland Express by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 959,257 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $8,844,000 after buying an additional 60,968 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the 1st quarter valued at $6,389,000. Gate City Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Heartland Express by 45.8% in the 4th quarter. Gate City Capital Management LLC now owns 590,893 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $6,630,000 after buying an additional 185,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Heartland Express by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 581,271 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $6,522,000 after buying an additional 57,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.45% of the company's stock.

Heartland Express Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ HTLD traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $8.59. The company had a trading volume of 355,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 679,321. The company has a market capitalization of $664.95 million, a PE ratio of -18.67 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Heartland Express, Inc. has a one year low of $7.11 and a one year high of $12.85.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The transportation company reported ($0.14) earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $229.12 million. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 3.85% and a negative return on equity of 4.42%. Heartland Express's revenue was down 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.04) EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Heartland Express

In other news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin bought 24,798 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.19 per share, for a total transaction of $203,095.62. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 1,491,868 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,218,398.92. This trade represents a 1.69% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last three months, insiders have bought 30,000 shares of company stock valued at $245,752. Company insiders own 40.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on HTLD shares. Baird R W upgraded shares of Heartland Express to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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, August 4th. Barclays lowered their target price on Heartland Express from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen cut Heartland Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Heartland Express from $9.00 to $8.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $9.70.

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.