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

Shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Reduce" by the eight brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $9.50.

Several brokerages have weighed in on HTLD. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Heartland Express in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird decreased 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. Baird R W raised Heartland Express to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Barclays reduced their target price on Heartland Express from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Heartland Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd.

Heartland Express Price Performance

Shares of Heartland Express stock opened at $8.40 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $8.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.55. The stock has a market cap of $650.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.26 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. Heartland Express has a one year low of $7.11 and a one year high of $12.85.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The transportation company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $210.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $229.12 million. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 3.85% and a negative return on equity of 4.42%. The business's revenue was down 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.04) EPS. Equities analysts expect that Heartland Express will post 0.17 EPS for the current year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 23rd were paid a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Heartland Express's dividend payout ratio is presently -17.39%.

Insider Activity at Heartland Express

In related news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin bought 24,798 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $8.19 per share, for a total transaction of $203,095.62. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,491,868 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,218,398.92. This represents a 1.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders bought a total of 30,000 shares of company stock valued at $245,752 in the last quarter. 40.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Express

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position 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 worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 3,036 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 1,261.6% in the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 12,472 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 11,556 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 3,345.5% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 12,576 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 12,211 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Heartland Express during the first quarter worth $117,000. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Heartland Express during the second quarter worth $118,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.45% of the company's stock.

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.

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