Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) PT Lowered to $12.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $13.00 to $12.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the transportation company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price objective indicates a potential upside of 16.17% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Heartland Express from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $13.50.

Heartland Express Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Heartland Express stock traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $10.33. 430,659 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 312,018. The company has a 50 day moving average of $11.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.86. Heartland Express has a fifty-two week low of $10.00 and a fifty-two week high of $17.08. 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 stock has a market cap of $816.38 million, a P/E ratio of 57.22 and a beta of 0.62.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.12) by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $270.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $263.92 million. Heartland Express had a net margin of 1.22% and a return on equity of 1.71%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.16 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Heartland Express will post -0.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heartland Express

In other Heartland Express news, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust bought 14,933 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $12.39 per share, with a total value of $185,019.87. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 159,865 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,980,727.35. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 39.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HTLD. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 133.2% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 18,082 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 10,327 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 99.2% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,224,494 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $17,988,000 after purchasing an additional 609,769 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 23,644 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,654 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Heartland Express by 5.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 29,391 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $432,000 after acquiring an additional 1,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP bought a new position in Heartland Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $612,000. 53.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.