Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) Given Consensus Rating of "Reduce" by Analysts

Key Points

• Heartland Express, Inc. has received a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" from analysts, with two analysts issuing sell ratings and four providing hold ratings.
• CEO Michael J. Gerdin recently purchased 24,798 shares of the company's stock, indicating a personal investment confidence, despite the stock's mixed performance.
• Heartland Express reported (-$0.14) earnings per share for the last quarter, falling short of analysts' expectations and reflecting a 23.4% year-over-year revenue decline.

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Reduce" by the six brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $9.70.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Heartland Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Heartland Express from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Baird R W raised Heartland Express to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Heartland Express from $9.00 to $8.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th.

Heartland Express Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HTLD traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $8.59. 694,147 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 729,231. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $8.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.92. Heartland Express has a one year low of $7.11 and a one year high of $12.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $664.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.67 and a beta of 1.06.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The transportation company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.06). Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 3.85% and a negative return on equity of 4.42%. The company had revenue of $210.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $229.12 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.04) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Heartland Express will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin purchased 24,798 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.19 per share, with a total value of $203,095.62. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 1,491,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders purchased 30,000 shares of company stock worth $245,752 over the last three months. 40.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in 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 period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Heartland Express by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 66,459 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $613,000 after purchasing an additional 1,257 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Heartland Express by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 126,736 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,095,000 after purchasing an additional 1,262 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Heartland Express by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 14,504 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $125,000 after purchasing an additional 1,517 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Heartland Express by 173.8% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,719 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,726 shares during the period. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.