Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Trading Down 4.4% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Heartland Express's stock dropped by 4.4% to $7.93, significantly below the previous close of $8.29, with trading volume down by 20% compared to its average.
• Analysts have recently lowered their price targets for Heartland Express, with **Morgan Stanley** and **Barclays** adjusting their targets to $11.00 and $8.00 respectively, reflecting a bearish outlook on the stock.
• Insider trading activity showed CEO Michael J. Gerdin purchasing 24,798 shares at an average cost of $8.19, suggesting some confidence in the company despite current challenges.

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) traded down 4.4% on Monday . The company traded as low as $7.95 and last traded at $7.93. 449,430 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 20% from the average session volume of 558,792 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.29.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Heartland Express Trading Up 6.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a 50 day moving average of $8.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.96. The stock has a market cap of $678.11 million, a PE ratio of -19.04 and a beta of 1.06.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The transportation company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $210.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $229.12 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.04) EPS. Heartland Express's revenue for the quarter was down 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Heartland Express

In other news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin acquired 24,798 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.19 per share, for a total transaction of $203,095.62. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 1,491,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,218,398.92. This represents a 1.69% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 30,000 shares of company stock valued at $245,752. Insiders own 40.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,726 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Heartland Express by 185.5% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,673 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 3,036 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Heartland Express by 1,261.6% in the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 12,472 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 11,556 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 3,345.5% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 12,576 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 12,211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Heartland Express during the 1st quarter worth approximately $117,000. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.