Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 59,216 Shares of Heartland Express, Inc. $HTLD

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in Heartland Express by 76.6%, selling 59,216 shares and holding only 18,084 shares worth approximately $167,000.
• Heartland Express reported a loss of ($0.14) EPS in its recent earnings release, missing expectations and seeing a 23.4% drop in revenue year-over-year.
• Several institutional investors increased their positions in Heartland Express, with 53.45% of the stock owned by institutional investors at present.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Free Report) by 76.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,084 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 59,216 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in Heartland Express were worth $167,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Enhancing Capital LLC bought a new stake in Heartland Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $533,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in Heartland Express by 26.6% during the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 136,925 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,262,000 after purchasing an additional 28,795 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Heartland Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $6,389,000. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Heartland Express by 243.6% during the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 12,987 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 9,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Heartland Express by 6.8% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 959,257 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $8,844,000 after purchasing an additional 60,968 shares in the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 report on Monday, August 4th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $9.00 to $8.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Baird R W raised shares of Heartland Express to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $9.70.

Heartland Express Price Performance

HTLD stock opened at $8.37 on Wednesday. Heartland Express, Inc. has a one year low of $7.11 and a one year high of $12.85. The company's fifty day moving average price is $8.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.82. 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 company has a market capitalization of $647.92 million, a PE ratio of -18.20 and a beta of 1.09.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The transportation company reported ($0.14) 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 analysts' expectations of $229.12 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.04) EPS. Heartland Express's quarterly revenue was down 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Heartland Express

In related news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin bought 24,798 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price 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. This represents a 1.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have acquired a total of 30,000 shares of company stock valued at $245,752 over the last quarter. 40.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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