Raymond James & Associates Invests $8.56 Million in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)

Raymond James & Associates acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 600,220 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $8,559,000. Raymond James & Associates owned approximately 0.76% of Heartland Express at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its position in Heartland Express by 115.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 394,367 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $5,793,000 after purchasing an additional 210,935 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in Heartland Express by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 23,644 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,654 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its position in Heartland Express by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 104,100 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Heartland Express by 141.6% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 43,679 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $623,000 after buying an additional 25,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Heartland Express by 99.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,224,494 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $17,988,000 after buying an additional 609,769 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 53.45% of the company's stock.

Heartland Express Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HTLD traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $10.90. 298,856 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 314,057. The stock has a market capitalization of $861.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.56 and a beta of 0.62. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 52-week low of $10.83 and a 52-week high of $17.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The company's 50 day moving average price is $12.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.22.

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

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 26th were given a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 25th. Heartland Express's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heartland Express

In other Heartland Express news, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust acquired 14,933 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.39 per share, for a total transaction of $185,019.87. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 159,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,980,727.35. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 39.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HTLD. StockNews.com raised shares of Heartland Express from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. One 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 price target of $14.00.

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.