Heartland Express (HTLD) Projected to Announce Earnings on Thursday

Key Points

• Heartland Express is expected to report Q2 2026 earnings before the market opens on Thursday, July 23, with analysts looking for a slight loss of $0.003 per share on revenue of $185.1 million.
• The company’s last quarter beat EPS expectations but missed on revenue, posting a loss of $0.06 per share versus a forecasted $0.13 loss, while revenue fell 19.7% year over year to $153.8 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $12.80, while the stock recently traded around $14.52 and the company continues to pay a small quarterly dividend of $0.02 per share.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) will likely be posting its Q2 2026 results before the market opens on Thursday, July 23rd. Analysts expect Heartland Express to announce earnings of ($0.0030) per share and revenue of $185.0780 million for the quarter. Individuals are encouraged to explore the company's upcoming Q2 2026 earning overview page for the latest details on the call scheduled for Thursday, July 23, 2026 at 12:30 PM ET.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The transportation company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.07. Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 3.70% and a negative net margin of 5.69%.The firm had revenue of $153.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $177.30 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.18) EPS. The firm's revenue was down 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect Heartland Express to post $0 EPS for the current fiscal year and $1 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Heartland Express Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HTLD opened at $14.52 on Thursday. Heartland Express has a fifty-two week low of $6.99 and a fifty-two week high of $16.64. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $14.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.93 and a beta of 1.31.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Heartland Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on HTLD shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on Heartland Express from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered Heartland Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $12.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Heartland Express news, Director David Paul Millis sold 31,402 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.67, for a total value of $492,069.34. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 28,387 shares in the company, valued at $444,824.29. This represents a 52.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 41.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HTLD. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Express during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,905 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,261 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 185.5% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,673 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 3,036 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 51.3% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,549 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 3,918 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 12,252 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 870 shares during the period. 53.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Heartland Express

Heartland Express, Inc NASDAQ: HTLD is a publicly traded truckload carrier headquartered in North Liberty, Iowa. The company specializes in full truckload transportation, offering dry-van services that connect shippers with customers across the continental United States. Its primary focus is on over-the-road freight movements, serving industries such as manufacturing, retail, and consumer goods.

Founded in 1978 as Heartland Motor Freight, the company has grown from a regional carrier into one of the larger U.S.

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