JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Price Target to $9.00

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. has lowered its price target for Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) from $10.00 to $9.00, maintaining an "underweight" rating for the stock.
• Heartland Express reported a loss of $0.14 earnings per share in its latest quarterly earnings, missing estimates, and experiencing a 23.4% drop in revenue compared to the previous year.
• Insider activity shows CEO Michael J. Gerdin bought shares at an average cost of $8.19, increasing his ownership by 1.69% during the recent transaction.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $10.00 to $9.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "underweight" rating on the transportation company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target would suggest a potential upside of 2.33% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Barclays dropped their price target on Heartland Express from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Heartland Express from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research raised shares of Heartland Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Heartland Express in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Heartland Express to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $9.50.

Heartland Express Stock Up 4.6%

NASDAQ HTLD traded up $0.39 on Wednesday, reaching $8.80. The company had a trading volume of 790,059 shares, compared to its average volume of 578,396. The stock has a market capitalization of $680.82 million, a P/E ratio of -19.12 and a beta of 1.06. The company's fifty day moving average is $8.34 and its 200 day moving average is $8.56. Heartland Express has a 52-week low of $7.11 and a 52-week high of $12.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 4.42% and a negative net margin of 3.85%.The firm had revenue of $210.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $229.12 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.04) EPS. The firm's revenue was down 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Heartland Express will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin purchased 24,798 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,491,868 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,218,398.92. This trade represents a 1.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders acquired 30,000 shares of company stock worth $245,752 in the last 90 days. 40.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Express

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HTLD. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Heartland Express by 317.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,236 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 2,460 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 185.5% during 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 raised its position in shares of 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 period. Quarry LP boosted its position in 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 period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Heartland Express during the 1st quarter worth $117,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.45% of the company's stock.

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.

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