Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) Short Interest Up 27.1% in May

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,360,000 shares, an increase of 27.1% from the April 30th total of 1,070,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 609,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days. Currently, 3.1% of the company's shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Heartland Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd.

Heartland Express Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of HTLD traded up $0.03 on Friday, reaching $8.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 327,364 shares, compared to its average volume of 441,565. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Heartland Express has a twelve month low of $7.11 and a twelve month high of $13.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $680.28 million, a PE ratio of -23.40 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $8.50 and a 200-day moving average of $10.15.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The transportation company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.05). Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 3.57% and a negative net margin of 2.84%. The business had revenue of $219.42 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $241.37 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.19) EPS. The company's revenue was down 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Heartland Express will post 0.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Heartland Express

In related news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin purchased 148,272 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $7.85 per share, with a total value of $1,163,935.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,461,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,475,663.80. This trade represents a 11.29% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James G. Pratt purchased 6,571 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.96 per share, with a total value of $58,876.16. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 30,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $268,800. This represents a 28.05% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 619,031 shares of company stock worth $5,125,232 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 40.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 26,538 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 926 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 66,459 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $613,000 after acquiring an additional 1,257 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 173.8% in 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 last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC grew its position in Heartland Express by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 17,310 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $194,000 after purchasing an additional 1,770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in Heartland Express by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 28,579 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 2,189 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.45% of the company's stock.

About Heartland Express

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.