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

Key Points

• Analysts covering Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) have a consensus rating of "Reduce", with three sell ratings, three holds, and one buy. The average 1-year price target is $12.80.
• The company recently reported Q1 earnings of -$0.06 EPS, beating estimates, but revenue of $153.81 million missed expectations and was down 19.7% year over year. Analysts expect Heartland Express to post $0.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• Heartland Express also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.02 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 0.5%. In addition, a director sold more than 31,000 shares in mid-June, while institutional investors hold 53.45% of the stock.

Shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Reduce" from the seven analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $12.80.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Heartland Express in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th.

Heartland Express Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HTLD traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $14.80. The company had a trading volume of 394,204 shares, compared to its average volume of 578,946. Heartland Express has a one year low of $6.99 and a one year high of $16.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company's 50-day moving average price is $14.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.04. The firm has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.43 and a beta of 1.31.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The transportation company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $153.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $177.30 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.18) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 19.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Heartland Express will post 0.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 given a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Heartland Express's dividend payout ratio is currently -14.29%.

Insider Activity at Heartland Express

In other news, Director David Paul Millis sold 31,402 shares of Heartland Express stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.67, for a total value of $492,069.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 28,387 shares in the company, valued at approximately $444,824.29. The trade was a 52.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 41.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Heartland Express by 76.7% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,905 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,261 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Heartland Express by 185.5% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,673 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 3,036 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 3,918 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Heartland Express by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,525 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 999 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 53.45% of the company's stock.

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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