SG Americas Securities LLC Increases Position in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)

SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Free Report) by 149.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,681 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 29,145 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned 0.06% of Heartland Express worth $449,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HTLD. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 26,538 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 926 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Heartland Express by 173.8% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,719 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,726 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Heartland Express by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 17,310 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $194,000 after buying an additional 1,770 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Heartland Express by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 28,579 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 2,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 24,390 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 2,399 shares during the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Heartland Express Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ HTLD traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $8.66. 1,404,509 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 447,297. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 52-week low of $7.11 and a 52-week high of $13.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $680.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.06 and a beta of 1.07. The company's 50-day moving average is $8.58 and its 200-day moving average is $9.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The transportation company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.05). Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 3.46% and a negative net margin of 2.86%. The company had revenue of $219.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $241.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.19) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 23rd will be given a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 23rd. Heartland Express's dividend payout ratio is currently -22.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust acquired 148,272 shares of Heartland Express stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $7.70 per share, for a total transaction of $1,141,694.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 1,046,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,060,791.20. The trade was a 16.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James G. Pratt purchased 6,571 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.96 per share, for a total transaction of $58,876.16. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 30,000 shares in the company, valued at $268,800. This trade represents a 28.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 619,031 shares of company stock worth $5,125,232 over the last three months. Company insiders own 40.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HTLD has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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 report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Heartland Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th.

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.