Brokerages Set Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) Price Target at $13.50

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Reduce" from the four ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and three have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $13.50.

HTLD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Heartland Express from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com cut Heartland Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Heartland Express Trading Up 2.6 %

Heartland Express stock traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $10.36. 483,785 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 314,854. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $818.75 million, a PE ratio of -59.41 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.82. Heartland Express has a 12-month low of $10.00 and a 12-month high of $17.08.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.19) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by ($0.07). Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 1.13% and a negative return on equity of 1.49%. The business had revenue of $270.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $263.92 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.16 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Heartland Express will post -0.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 26th were given a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 25th. Heartland Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -47.06%.

Insider Activity at Heartland Express

In other news, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust purchased 14,933 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $12.39 per share, with a total value of $185,019.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 159,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,980,727.35. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 39.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 99.2% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,224,494 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $17,988,000 after purchasing an additional 609,769 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates acquired a new stake in Heartland Express in the fourth quarter valued at $8,559,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Heartland Express by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,172,549 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $45,241,000 after acquiring an additional 264,313 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Heartland Express by 115.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 394,367 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $5,793,000 after purchasing an additional 210,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,662,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.