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

Key Points

• Heartland Express, Inc. has received a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" from analysts, with an average 12-month target price of $9.70.
• CEO Michael J. Gerdin recently purchased nearly 25,000 shares at an average price of $8.19 each, increasing his ownership stake by 1.69%.
• The company reported a loss of $0.14 earnings per share for its last quarter, missing analysts’ estimates and showing a significant 23.4% revenue decline year-over-year.

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Reduce" by the six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $9.70.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Baird R W upgraded Heartland Express to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Robert W. Baird lowered 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. Barclays lowered 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin bought 24,798 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $8.19 per share, with a total value 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders acquired a total of 30,000 shares of company stock valued at $245,752 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 40.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Heartland Express by 173.8% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,719 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,726 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Heartland Express by 317.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,236 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 2,460 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted 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 buying an additional 3,036 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Heartland Express by 1,261.6% during the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 12,472 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 11,556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its stake in Heartland Express by 3,345.5% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 12,576 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 12,211 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 53.45% of the company's stock.

Heartland Express Stock Performance

Shares of HTLD stock traded down $0.11 on Monday, hitting $8.39. 208,199 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 567,450. The company has a market capitalization of $649.70 million, a PE ratio of -18.25 and a beta of 1.09. The company's fifty day moving average is $8.37 and its 200 day moving average is $8.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Heartland Express has a 1-year low of $7.11 and a 1-year high of $12.85.

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

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 23rd will be paid a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Heartland Express's dividend payout ratio is presently -17.39%.

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.