Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Hits New 12-Month Low - Time to Sell?

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $7.91 and last traded at $7.95, with a volume of 223387 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $8.15.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on HTLD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Barclays lowered their price target on Heartland Express from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd.

Heartland Express Trading Up 5.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market cap of $612.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.08 and a beta of 0.97. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $8.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.65.

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

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 25th. Heartland Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -22.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Heartland Express by 326.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 83,848 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 64,185 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Heartland Express by 159.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 127,153 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,561,000 after purchasing an additional 78,237 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in Heartland Express by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 39,395 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $442,000 after buying an additional 2,196 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Heartland Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $75,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 35.2% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 346,271 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $3,885,000 after buying an additional 90,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.