Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Price Target Lowered to $11.00 at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has reduced the price target for Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) from $12.00 to $11.00, maintaining an "equal weight" rating, which indicates a potential upside of 42.58% from the current stock price.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings report showed a loss of ($0.14) earnings per share, falling short of analysts' expectations, with a 23.4% year-over-year decline in revenue.
• Insider activity has seen significant purchases, including CEO Michael J. Gerdin acquiring 148,272 shares at an average price of $8.50, increasing his stake in the company by 51.13%.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Free Report) had its price objective cut by Morgan Stanley from $12.00 to $11.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the transportation company's stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. Baird R W raised Heartland Express to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Heartland Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Heartland Express from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $9.70.

Heartland Express Trading Down 0.1%

HTLD traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $7.76. 44,039 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 548,168. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $8.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $609.19 million, a PE ratio of -16.88 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Heartland Express has a 52-week low of $7.11 and a 52-week high of $12.85.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $210.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $229.12 million. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 3.85% and a negative return on equity of 4.42%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.04) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Heartland Express will post 0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Heartland Express

In other Heartland Express news, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust acquired 167,644 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $8.95 per share, for a total transaction of $1,500,413.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 1,214,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,869,775. The trade was a 16.01% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James G. Pratt bought 6,571 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $8.96 per share, with a total value of $58,876.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 30,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $268,800. This trade represents a 28.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 40.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTLD. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,506,139 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $39,338,000 after acquiring an additional 123,399 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Heartland Express by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,241,432 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $10,727,000 after purchasing an additional 128,702 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Heartland Express by 6.8% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 959,257 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $8,844,000 after purchasing an additional 60,968 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Heartland Express by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 696,823 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $7,818,000 after purchasing an additional 157,892 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Heartland Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $6,389,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.45% of the company's stock.

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.