Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,970,000 shares, an increase of 44.9% from the May 15th total of 1,360,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 604,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days. Approximately 4.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Heartland Express Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Heartland Express stock traded up $0.11 on Thursday, reaching $8.72. The company had a trading volume of 347,291 shares, compared to its average volume of 443,147. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $8.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. Heartland Express has a 52-week low of $7.11 and a 52-week high of $13.67. The firm has a market cap of $684.96 million, a PE ratio of -24.22 and a beta of 1.07.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The transportation company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $219.42 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $241.37 million. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 2.86% and a negative return on equity of 3.46%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.19) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Heartland Express will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 23rd will be paid a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 23rd. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Heartland Express's payout ratio is presently -22.22%.

Insider Activity at Heartland Express

In related news, Director James G. Pratt bought 6,571 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.96 per share, for a total transaction of $58,876.16. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 30,000 shares in the company, valued at $268,800. This represents a 28.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Gerdin purchased 148,272 shares of Heartland Express stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $7.85 per share, for a total transaction of $1,163,935.20. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,461,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,475,663.80. This trade represents a 11.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 619,031 shares of company stock valued at $5,125,232. Corporate insiders own 40.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Heartland Express by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,506,139 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $39,338,000 after acquiring an additional 123,399 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 6.8% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 959,257 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $8,844,000 after purchasing an additional 60,968 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 730,368 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $8,195,000 after purchasing an additional 63,493 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 696,823 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $7,818,000 after purchasing an additional 157,892 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $6,389,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.45% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on HTLD. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Heartland Express from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Heartland Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th.

Heartland Express Company 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.