Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Sells 97,873 Shares of Heartland Express, Inc. $HTLD

Key Points

• Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC reduced its stake in Heartland Express, Inc. by 70.1%, owning 41,675 shares valued at approximately $384,000 after selling 97,873 shares in the first quarter.
• CEO Michael J. Gerdin acquired 24,798 shares, increasing his ownership by 1.69% and holding a total of 1,491,868 shares valued at over $12 million.
• The company's stock experienced a 23.4% decline in revenue year-over-year for the last quarter, reporting $210.39 million versus the consensus estimate of $229.12 million.

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lessened its position in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Free Report) by 70.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 41,675 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 97,873 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Heartland Express worth $384,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Heartland Express by 3,345.5% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 12,576 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 12,211 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in Heartland Express by 187.5% during the 1st quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 38,030 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 24,804 shares in the last quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC increased its stake in Heartland Express by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 47,461 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 4,160 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Heartland Express during the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,396,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Heartland Express by 321.1% during the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 80,711 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $744,000 after purchasing an additional 61,546 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 53.45% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HTLD shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Baird R W upgraded Heartland Express to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Heartland Express from $9.00 to $8.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Heartland Express has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $9.70.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin purchased 24,798 shares of Heartland Express 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 directly owned 1,491,868 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,218,398.92. This trade represents a 1.69% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders purchased a total of 30,000 shares of company stock worth $245,752 in the last three months. Insiders own 40.70% of the company's stock.

Heartland Express Stock Performance

HTLD stock traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $8.40. 899,802 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 558,040. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $8.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.68. Heartland Express, Inc. has a one year low of $7.11 and a one year high of $12.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $650.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.26 and a beta of 1.09.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $229.12 million. Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 4.42% and a negative net margin of 3.85%.The business's quarterly revenue was down 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.04) EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 EPS for the current year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 23rd. Heartland Express's payout ratio is currently -17.39%.

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.