Marshall Wace LLP Makes New Investment in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)

Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 54,406 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $610,000. Marshall Wace LLP owned about 0.07% of Heartland Express as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Heartland Express by 5.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 45,732 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in 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. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Heartland Express by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 696,823 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $7,818,000 after buying an additional 157,892 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Heartland Express by 93.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 591,755 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $6,639,000 after buying an additional 285,838 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keeley Teton Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Heartland Express by 100.8% during the fourth quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC now owns 365,421 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $4,100,000 after acquiring an additional 183,450 shares during the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on HTLD. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com cut Heartland Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st.

Heartland Express Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ HTLD traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $7.60. The company had a trading volume of 607,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 411,786. The company has a market capitalization of $596.83 million, a PE ratio of -20.54 and a beta of 1.04. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $8.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.61. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 1-year low of $7.11 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.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The transportation company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.05). Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 2.84% and a negative return on equity of 3.57%. The company had revenue of $219.42 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $241.37 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.19) EPS. Heartland Express's revenue for the quarter was down 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th were paid a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. Heartland Express's dividend payout ratio is currently -22.22%.

Heartland Express 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.