Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Shares Gap Up on Insider Buying Activity

Key Points

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Shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $7.92, but opened at $8.23. Heartland Express shares last traded at $8.54, with a volume of 309,808 shares traded.

Specifically, CEO Michael J. Gerdin acquired 24,798 shares of Heartland Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $8.19 per share, for a total transaction of $203,095.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,491,868 shares in the company, valued at $12,218,398.92. The trade was a 1.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Gerdin purchased 3,888 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.20 per share, with a total value of $31,881.60. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,467,070 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,029,974. This trade represents a 0.27% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays dropped 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. Robert W. Baird dropped 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. Wall Street Zen lowered Heartland Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Baird R W raised Heartland Express to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $9.70.

Heartland Express Stock Up 8.3%

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 company has a market capitalization of $663.87 million, a PE ratio of -18.61 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50-day moving average of $8.54 and a 200 day moving average of $9.03.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last issued 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). 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 last year, the company earned ($0.04) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,506,139 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $39,338,000 after purchasing an additional 123,399 shares in the last quarter. Gate City Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Heartland Express by 167.6% during the 2nd quarter. Gate City Capital Management LLC now owns 1,611,581 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $13,924,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009,388 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Heartland Express by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,408,307 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $12,168,000 after acquiring an additional 166,717 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Heartland Express by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,241,432 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $10,727,000 after buying an additional 128,702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Heartland Express by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 959,257 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $8,844,000 after buying an additional 60,968 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.

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