Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Reduce" from 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.

Shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Reduce" from the six brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $9.70.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Heartland Express from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. 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 report on Monday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Heartland Express to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin purchased 24,798 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 in the company, valued at $12,218,398.92. This trade represents a 1.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders purchased 30,000 shares of company stock valued at $245,752 in the last ninety days. 40.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,726 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Heartland Express by 185.5% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in Heartland Express by 1,261.6% in the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 12,472 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 11,556 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its stake in Heartland Express by 3,345.5% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 12,576 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 12,211 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Heartland Express in the 1st quarter valued at $117,000. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Heartland Express Trading Down 2.3%

NASDAQ HTLD opened at $8.47 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $655.65 million, a P/E ratio of -18.41 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock's 50-day moving average is $8.43 and its 200-day moving average is $8.70. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The transportation company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.06). The firm 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%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.04) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Heartland Express will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 23rd will be paid a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 23rd. Heartland Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -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.

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