Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) Shares Purchased by Legato Capital Management LLC

Legato Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Free Report) by 111.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 116,796 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 61,687 shares during the quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC owned about 0.15% of Heartland Express worth $1,077,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HTLD. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 93.4% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 591,755 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $6,639,000 after buying an additional 285,838 shares during the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Express during the fourth quarter worth about $2,694,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 55.6% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 560,300 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $6,287,000 after buying an additional 200,100 shares during the last quarter. Gate City Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 45.8% during the fourth quarter. Gate City Capital Management LLC now owns 590,893 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $6,630,000 after buying an additional 185,718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keeley Teton Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 100.8% during the fourth quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC now owns 365,421 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $4,100,000 after buying an additional 183,450 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.45% of the company's stock.

Heartland Express Price Performance

Shares of HTLD stock traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $8.36. 674,561 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 547,565. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $8.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.42. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 1-year low of $7.11 and a 1-year high of $13.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market cap of $656.71 million, a PE ratio of -18.17 and a beta of 1.05.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The transportation company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.06). Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 3.85% and a negative return on equity of 4.38%. The company had revenue of $210.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $229.12 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.04) earnings per share. Heartland Express's revenue was down 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 23rd were given a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 23rd. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Heartland Express's payout ratio is -17.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin purchased 148,272 shares of Heartland Express stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.50 per share, for a total transaction of $1,260,312.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 438,282 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,725,397. The trade was a 51.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director James G. Pratt purchased 6,571 shares of Heartland Express stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.96 per share, with a total value of $58,876.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 30,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $268,800. This trade represents a 28.05% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders purchased 619,031 shares of company stock worth $5,125,232. Company insiders own 40.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Heartland Express in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $9.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Heartland Express from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Heartland Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Baird R W raised Heartland Express to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Heartland Express from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $9.75.

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.