Two Sigma Advisers LP Boosts Stock Position in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)

Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Free Report) by 55.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 560,300 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 200,100 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned approximately 0.71% of Heartland Express worth $6,287,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Heartland Express by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 28,579 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $321,000 after buying an additional 2,189 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Heartland Express in the fourth quarter worth about $288,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Heartland Express by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 898,289 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $10,079,000 after buying an additional 45,732 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in Heartland Express by 36.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 25,368 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 6,821 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Heartland Express by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 99,148 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,113,000 after buying an additional 15,300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 53.45% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Heartland Express

In other Heartland Express news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin acquired 148,272 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $7.85 per share, with a total value of $1,163,935.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,461,868 shares in the company, valued at $11,475,663.80. This trade represents a 11.29% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James G. Pratt bought 6,571 shares of Heartland Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $8.96 per share, for a total transaction of $58,876.16. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 30,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $268,800. This represents a 28.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 619,031 shares of company stock valued at $5,125,232 over the last 90 days. 40.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Heartland Express Trading Down 0.1%

HTLD stock traded down $0.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $9.02. The company had a trading volume of 125,108 shares, compared to its average volume of 436,547. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $708.16 million, a P/E ratio of -24.34 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.30. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 52-week low of $7.11 and a 52-week high of $13.67.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on HTLD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Heartland Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd.

About Heartland Express

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.