Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Trading Down 5% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Heartland Express shares fell 5% to $11.90 in below-average trading volume, extending weakness below the stock’s 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment is largely negative: the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce”, with three Sell, three Hold, and one Buy rating, and an average price target of $13.00.
• The company reported quarterly revenue of $152.38 million, well below the $185.08 million analyst estimate, while revenue declined 12.5% year over year. Heartland also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.02 per share, for an annualized yield of about 0.7%.

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) fell 5% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $11.90 and last traded at $11.90. Approximately 115,806 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 585,416 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.52.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HTLD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Heartland Express in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Heartland Express from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Barclays reduced their target price on Heartland Express from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Heartland Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $13.00.

Heartland Express Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $13.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $917.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.37 and a beta of 1.33.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The transportation company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter. Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 0.92% and a negative net margin of 2.98%.The business had revenue of $152.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $185.08 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.14) EPS. Heartland Express's quarterly revenue was down 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Friday, September 25th will be given a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 25th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Heartland Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -28.57%.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Express

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $104,523,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Heartland Express by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,873,653 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $40,285,000 after purchasing an additional 201,151 shares during the last quarter. Gate City Capital Management LLC raised its position in Heartland Express by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Gate City Capital Management LLC now owns 2,192,807 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $19,801,000 after purchasing an additional 167,962 shares during the last quarter. Wallace Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Heartland Express in the second quarter worth $14,687,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Heartland Express by 34.7% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 588,810 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $6,124,000 after purchasing an additional 151,589 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.45% of the company's stock.

Heartland Express Company Profile

Heartland Express, Inc is a transportation and logistics company that provides asset-based truckload services in North America. The company primarily operates a fleet of dry van tractors and trailers, transporting general freight that does not require temperature control.

Its services include irregular-route and regional truckload transportation, dedicated freight, expedited shipping, and logistics support. Heartland Express serves customers across the United States and also provides cross-border transportation involving Canada and Mexico.

Founded in 1978, the company is headquartered in North Liberty, Iowa.

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