Two Sigma Investments LP Increases Stock Holdings in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)

Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Free Report) by 31.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 414,856 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 98,866 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP owned 0.53% of Heartland Express worth $4,655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 2,189 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Heartland Express in the 4th quarter valued at $288,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Heartland Express by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 898,289 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $10,079,000 after purchasing an additional 45,732 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in Heartland Express by 36.8% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 25,368 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 6,821 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Heartland Express by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 99,148 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,113,000 after purchasing an additional 15,300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.45% of the company's stock.

Heartland Express Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ HTLD traded down $0.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $8.99. 706,508 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 439,361. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.11 and a 12-month high of $13.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $8.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $706.20 million, a PE ratio of -24.30 and a beta of 1.04.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $219.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $241.37 million. Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 3.57% and a negative net margin of 2.84%. The firm's revenue was down 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.19) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heartland Express

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on HTLD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Barclays decreased 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered 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.