Fox Run Management L.L.C. Acquires New Stake in Heartland Express, Inc. $HTLD

Key Points

• Fox Run Management L.L.C. invested approximately $397,000 in Heartland Express, acquiring 43,042 shares in the first quarter, representing about 0.05% ownership.
• Insider transactions revealed that CEO Michael J. Gerdin purchased 24,798 shares at an average price of $8.19, increasing his stake by 1.69% to 1,491,868 shares valued at around $12.2 million.
• Heartland Express reported a missed earnings estimate of ($0.14) EPS, with revenue declining 23.4% year-over-year, leading analysts to forecast an average price target of $9.70 with a consensus rating of "Hold."

Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 43,042 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $397,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. owned about 0.05% of Heartland Express at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HTLD. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 173.8% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,719 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,726 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 1,261.6% during the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 12,472 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 11,556 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Express during the first quarter worth $117,000. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 243.6% in the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 12,987 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $120,000 after acquiring an additional 9,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 44.4% in the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 13,858 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 4,263 shares in the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Heartland Express Stock Up 6.7%

HTLD traded up $0.55 on Friday, hitting $8.76. The company had a trading volume of 619,674 shares, compared to its average volume of 566,095. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $8.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.00. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.11 and a 12-month high of $12.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $678.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.04 and a beta of 1.06.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The transportation company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.06). Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 4.42% and a negative net margin of 3.85%.The business had revenue of $210.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $229.12 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.04) EPS. Heartland Express's revenue was down 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HTLD has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Heartland Express from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays decreased their price objective on Heartland Express from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Baird R W upgraded Heartland Express to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Heartland Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Heartland Express currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $9.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin purchased 24,798 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.19 per share, with a total value of $203,095.62. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 1,491,868 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,218,398.92. The trade was a 1.69% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders purchased a total of 30,000 shares of company stock valued at $245,752 in the last 90 days. 40.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.