Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Buys New Stake in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 34,531 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $387,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Inspire Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Heartland Express by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 17,310 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $194,000 after acquiring an additional 1,770 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 28,579 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $321,000 after acquiring an additional 2,189 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 39,395 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $442,000 after buying an additional 2,196 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its position in Heartland Express by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 24,390 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,399 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Heartland Express by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 35,143 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 2,630 shares during the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Heartland Express Trading Down 1.6 %

HTLD stock traded down $0.12 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $7.60. 607,075 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 411,572. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 52-week low of $7.11 and a 52-week high of $13.67. The business's 50 day moving average price is $8.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $596.83 million, a PE ratio of -20.54 and a beta of 1.04.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The transportation company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.05). Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 3.57% and a negative net margin of 2.84%. The company had revenue of $219.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $241.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.19) EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were paid a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 25th. Heartland Express's payout ratio is -22.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HTLD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Heartland Express from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com cut Heartland Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd.

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.