Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) CEO Michael J. Gerdin Acquires 24,798 Shares

Key Points

• Heartland Express CEO Michael J. Gerdin purchased 24,798 shares of the company's stock for approximately $203,095, increasing his total ownership by 1.69% to nearly 1.49 million shares.
• Heartland Express is currently experiencing a 4.5% decline in stock price, trading at $7.92, with a recent earnings report showing a larger loss per share than expected.
• Equities analysts have recently revised their price targets downward, with ratings ranging from sell to hold, and the consensus price target currently stands at $9.70.

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) CEO Michael J. Gerdin acquired 24,798 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.19 per share, for a total transaction of $203,095.62. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,491,868 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,218,398.92. This represents a 1.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Heartland Express Stock Up 6.7%

Shares of HTLD stock traded up $0.55 during trading on Friday, reaching $8.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 619,674 shares, compared to its average volume of 729,936. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $8.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $678.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.04 and a beta of 1.06. Heartland Express, Inc. has a one year low of $7.11 and a one year high of $12.85.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $210.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was down 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.04) EPS. Analysts anticipate that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Express

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 7.4% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 147,033 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,270,000 after purchasing an additional 10,108 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 11.7% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 14,504 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 1,517 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 185.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Oxford Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the second quarter valued at $130,000. Finally, Gate City Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 167.6% in the second quarter. Gate City Capital Management LLC now owns 1,611,581 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $13,924,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009,388 shares during the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HTLD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $9.00 to $8.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Heartland Express to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Heartland Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $9.70.

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.