Heartland Express, Inc. $HTLD Holdings Raised by Lesa Sroufe & Co

Key Points

• Lesa Sroufe & Co has significantly increased its stake in Heartland Express by 111.3%, now owning about 1.8% of the company, equating to 228,895 shares.
• Several analysts have downgraded their price targets and ratings for Heartland Express, resulting in a consensus price target of $9.50 and an average rating of "Reduce."
• CEO Michael J. Gerdin acquired 24,798 shares of the company at an average price of $8.19, boosting his total ownership in the company, which indicates insider confidence.

Lesa Sroufe & Co lifted its stake in shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Free Report) by 111.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 228,895 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 120,570 shares during the quarter. Heartland Express comprises about 1.8% of Lesa Sroufe & Co's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Lesa Sroufe & Co owned 0.29% of Heartland Express worth $1,978,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 252.2% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 16,579 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 11,872 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in Heartland Express by 24.4% in the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 53,948 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $466,000 after acquiring an additional 10,594 shares in the last quarter. LexAurum Advisors LLC raised its position in Heartland Express by 46.2% in the second quarter. LexAurum Advisors LLC now owns 19,000 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $164,000 after acquiring an additional 6,000 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its position in Heartland Express by 2.5% in the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 68,136 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $589,000 after acquiring an additional 1,677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in Heartland Express by 7.3% in the second quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 25,680 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 1,751 shares in the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Heartland Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Heartland Express to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Heartland Express in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $9.50.

Insider Activity at Heartland Express

In other news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin purchased 24,798 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $8.19 per share, with a total value of $203,095.62. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 1,491,868 shares in the company, valued at $12,218,398.92. This represents a 1.69% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 30,000 shares of company stock valued at $245,752. Insiders own 40.70% of the company's stock.

Heartland Express Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HTLD opened at $8.06 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Heartland Express, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $7.11 and a fifty-two week high of $12.85. The stock's 50-day moving average is $8.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.51. The stock has a market cap of $623.92 million, a PE ratio of -17.52 and a beta of 1.06.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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). Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 3.85% and a negative return on equity of 4.42%. The business had revenue of $210.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $229.12 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.04) EPS. The company's revenue was down 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 23rd. Heartland Express's payout ratio is -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.

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