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

Key Points

Error: Response status code does not indicate success: 429 (Too Many Requests).

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.

Specifically, CEO Michael J. Gerdin bought 24,798 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $8.19 per share, with a total value of $203,095.62. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 1,491,868 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,218,398.92. This represents a 1.69% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Gerdin acquired 3,888 shares of the company'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 in the company, valued at approximately $12,029,974. The trade was a 0.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Heartland Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Baird R W raised shares of Heartland Express to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $9.70.

Heartland Express Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $678.09 million, a PE ratio of -19.04 and a beta of 1.06. The stock's 50-day moving average is $8.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The transportation company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $210.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $229.12 million. Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 4.42% and a negative net margin of 3.85%.The business's revenue was down 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.04) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Express

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HTLD. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Heartland Express by 173.8% during the first 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 boosted its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 185.5% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,673 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 3,036 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 1,261.6% during the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 12,472 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 11,556 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 3,345.5% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 12,576 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 12,211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Heartland Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $117,000. 53.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.