Nuveen Asset Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Free Report) by 29.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 472,993 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 195,340 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.60% of Heartland Express worth $5,307,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Heartland Express during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the fourth quarter worth about $75,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the fourth quarter worth about $79,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $105,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Heartland Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $134,000. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Heartland Express Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HTLD traded down $0.17 on Wednesday, reaching $8.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 83,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 439,368. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.08. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 52-week low of $7.11 and a 52-week high of $13.67. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.21. The company has a market cap of $693.71 million, a P/E ratio of -23.84 and a beta of 1.04.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The transportation company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $219.42 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $241.37 million. Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 3.57% and a negative net margin of 2.84%. The company's revenue was down 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.19) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Heartland Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th.

Insider Transactions at Heartland Express

In other Heartland Express news, Director James G. Pratt purchased 6,571 shares of Heartland Express stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $8.96 per share, for a total transaction of $58,876.16. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 30,000 shares in the company, valued at $268,800. This represents a 28.05% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust acquired 148,272 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $7.70 per share, with a total value of $1,141,694.40. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 1,046,856 shares in the company, valued at $8,060,791.20. This trade represents a 16.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders purchased 619,031 shares of company stock worth $5,125,232. 40.70% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.