Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Acquires Shares of 34,531 Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 34,531 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $387,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Heartland Express by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 28,579 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 2,189 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Heartland Express by 326.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 83,848 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,029,000 after buying an additional 64,185 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Express during the fourth quarter worth about $288,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 898,289 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $10,079,000 after buying an additional 45,732 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 159.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 127,153 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,561,000 after buying an additional 78,237 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 53.45% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Transactions at Heartland Express

In other Heartland Express news, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust bought 148,272 shares of Heartland Express stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $7.70 per share, for a total transaction of $1,141,694.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,046,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,060,791.20. This trade represents a 16.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 40.70% of the company's stock.

Heartland Express Stock Performance

HTLD traded up $0.11 on Friday, reaching $8.47. The stock had a trading volume of 657,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 417,353. The business's 50-day moving average price is $8.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.55. The company has a market cap of $665.15 million, a P/E ratio of -22.89 and a beta of 1.04. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.11 and a 12-month high of $13.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last announced 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). Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 3.57% and a negative net margin of 2.84%. The business 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 company earned ($0.19) earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were paid a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 25th. Heartland Express's dividend payout ratio is presently -22.22%.

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.