Heartland Advisors Inc. Sells 233,951 Shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)

Heartland Advisors Inc. decreased its position in shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Free Report) by 39.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 365,269 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 233,951 shares during the quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned about 0.46% of Heartland Express worth $5,597,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Heartland Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the third quarter worth $258,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Heartland Express during the fourth quarter valued at $327,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Heartland Express in the third quarter worth about $363,000. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in Heartland Express in the third quarter worth about $376,000. Institutional investors own 53.45% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HTLD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Heartland Express from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Heartland Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Heartland Express has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $13.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust bought 93,496 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $10.12 per share, for a total transaction of $946,179.52. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 677,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,853,344.96. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Heartland Express news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin purchased 66,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $10.45 per share, with a total value of $689,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 518,594 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,419,307.30. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust acquired 93,496 shares of Heartland Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $10.12 per share, with a total value of $946,179.52. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 677,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,853,344.96. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 411,423 shares of company stock worth $4,314,831. Company insiders own 39.60% of the company's stock.

Heartland Express Price Performance

NASDAQ:HTLD traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $11.46. 331,711 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 359,573. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market capitalization of $905.91 million, a P/E ratio of -67.41 and a beta of 0.66. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.63 and a 12 month high of $17.08. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $11.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.44.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $270.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $263.92 million. Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 1.50% and a negative net margin of 1.13%. The business's revenue was down 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.16 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Heartland Express, Inc. will post -0.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 26th were paid a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 25th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. Heartland Express's dividend payout ratio is currently -47.06%.

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.