Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Releases Earnings Results

Key Points

• Heartland Express reported a quarterly EPS of ($0.14), missing estimates by ($0.06) and showing a 23.4% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.02 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.96%.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on the stock, with most ratings falling between "hold" and "sell", reflecting a consensus price target of $9.75.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The transportation company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.06), Zacks reports. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 3.85% and a negative return on equity of 4.42%. The company had revenue of $210.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $229.12 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.04) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 23.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Heartland Express Price Performance

Shares of HTLD traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $7.84. The stock had a trading volume of 837,950 shares, compared to its average volume of 531,865. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.95. Heartland Express has a 12 month low of $7.11 and a 12 month high of $13.23. The business has a fifty day moving average of $8.80 and a 200 day moving average of $9.38. The firm has a market cap of $615.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.04 and a beta of 1.05.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 23rd. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. Heartland Express's payout ratio is -17.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HTLD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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. Baird R W upgraded Heartland Express to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Heartland Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $9.00 to $8.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $9.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust acquired 167,644 shares of Heartland Express stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.95 per share, for a total transaction of $1,500,413.80. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 1,214,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,869,775. This trade represents a 16.01% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director James G. Pratt acquired 6,571 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.96 per share, with a total value of $58,876.16. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 30,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $268,800. This trade represents a 28.05% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 619,031 shares of company stock valued at $5,125,232 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 40.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Express

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HTLD. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the 1st quarter worth approximately $133,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Heartland Express by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 27,708 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in Heartland Express during the 1st quarter worth $907,000. 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.