Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) Shares Acquired by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Free Report) by 126.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 288,375 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 161,222 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.37% of Heartland Express worth $3,236,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Heartland Express by 35.2% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 346,271 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,885,000 after purchasing an additional 90,100 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 175.5% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 104,085 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,278,000 after buying an additional 66,311 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 64,185 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Heartland Express by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 730,368 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $8,195,000 after buying an additional 63,493 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 898,289 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $10,079,000 after buying an additional 45,732 shares during the period. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Heartland Express Stock Down 3.7 %

HTLD traded down $0.31 during trading on Friday, hitting $8.15. The company had a trading volume of 421,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 414,150. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 1-year low of $7.98 and a 1-year high of $13.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $640.02 million, a PE ratio of -22.03 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50-day moving average of $9.24 and a 200-day moving average of $10.79.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.02. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 2.84% and a negative return on equity of 3.57%. As a group, analysts forecast that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were given a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Heartland Express's dividend payout ratio is currently -21.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Barclays cut their price target on Heartland Express from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd.

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.