Heartland Express, Inc. $HTLD Shares Purchased by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Heartland Express, Inc. by 17.5%, owning a total of 282,190 shares valued at around $2.6 million.
• A number of analysts have revised their ratings for Heartland Express, with consensus now being a "hold" and a target price of $9.70.
• Heartland Express reported a quarterly loss of ($0.14) EPS, missing estimates, and saw a 23.4% year-over-year decline in revenue.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Free Report) by 17.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 282,190 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 42,110 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.36% of Heartland Express worth $2,602,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Heartland Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $397,000. Enhancing Capital LLC purchased a new position in Heartland Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $533,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Heartland Express by 26.6% during the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 136,925 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,262,000 after acquiring an additional 28,795 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Express during the 1st quarter worth about $6,389,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 243.6% during the 1st quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 12,987 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $120,000 after purchasing an additional 9,207 shares during the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Heartland Express Trading Up 6.7%

Shares of HTLD traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $8.76. The company had a trading volume of 619,674 shares, compared to its average volume of 727,192. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $8.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 1-year low of $7.11 and a 1-year high of $12.85. The stock has a market cap of $678.11 million, a PE ratio of -19.04 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $210.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $229.12 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.04) earnings per share. Heartland Express's revenue was down 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on HTLD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Baird R W raised shares of Heartland Express to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Barclays decreased 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 note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $9.00 to $8.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $9.70.

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.