Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Given New $13.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $14.00 to $13.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the transportation company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target would suggest a potential upside of 19.38% from the stock's current price.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on HTLD. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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. Barclays decreased their price objective on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Heartland Express from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $13.75.

Heartland Express Stock Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ:HTLD traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $10.89. 317,993 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 303,869. The company has a market cap of $860.68 million, a PE ratio of 60.50 and a beta of 0.62. Heartland Express has a one year low of $10.83 and a one year high of $17.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $12.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.16.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The transportation company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by $0.16. The company had revenue of $275.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $293.36 million. Heartland Express had a return on equity of 1.71% and a net margin of 1.22%. Equities analysts predict that Heartland Express will post 0.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Heartland Express news, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust purchased 14,933 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $12.39 per share, for a total transaction of $185,019.87. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 159,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,980,727.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 39.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Express

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HTLD. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Heartland Express by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 559,970 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $7,879,000 after buying an additional 9,269 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in Heartland Express by 16.9% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 44,708 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $629,000 after purchasing an additional 6,455 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Heartland Express by 26.0% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,047 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 2,075 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Heartland Express by 54.3% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 25,899 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 9,110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Heartland Express by 49.5% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 202,409 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 66,976 shares during the last quarter. 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.