Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) Receives Average Rating of "Reduce" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Heartland Express an average rating of "Reduce" from seven covering firms (3 sell, 3 hold, 1 buy) with an average 1-year price target of $11.20.
• Recent quarter: EPS of -$0.06 beat the -$0.13 consensus, but revenue of $153.81M missed expectations and fell 19.7% year‑over‑year, leaving the company with a negative net margin (-5.69%) and negative ROE.
• Shares opened around $13.27 (near the 1‑year high of $13.43) with a market cap of $1.03B and 50/200‑day SMAs of $10.79/$9.72, meaning the stock is trading above the average analyst target.

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Reduce" from the seven analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $11.20.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on HTLD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Heartland Express in a report on Friday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $9.00 price target on shares of Heartland Express in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Heartland Express from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday.

Heartland Express Price Performance

Shares of HTLD stock opened at $13.27 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.70 and a beta of 1.11. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $10.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.72. Heartland Express has a one year low of $6.99 and a one year high of $13.43.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.07. The business had revenue of $153.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $177.30 million. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 5.69% and a negative return on equity of 3.68%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.18) EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Heartland Express will post -0.24 EPS for the current year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 24th were given a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 24th. Heartland Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -14.29%.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Express

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Magnolia Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the third quarter valued at about $4,062,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 237.4% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 103,373 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $866,000 after buying an additional 72,739 shares in the last quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the third quarter worth about $89,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al raised its stake in Heartland Express by 58.5% during the third quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 103,500 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $867,000 after purchasing an additional 38,200 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Heartland Express by 183.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 68,875 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $577,000 after purchasing an additional 44,566 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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