Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 31,319 Shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Free Report) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,885,311 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 31,319 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 6.22% of Heartland Express worth $54,813,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 112.0% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 31,441 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $386,000 after acquiring an additional 16,610 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 175.5% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 104,085 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,278,000 after buying an additional 66,311 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 64,185 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 29.6% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 65,255 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $802,000 after acquiring an additional 14,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Heartland Express by 159.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 127,153 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,561,000 after acquiring an additional 78,237 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 53.45% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Barclays lowered their target price on Heartland Express from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd.

Heartland Express Trading Up 1.4 %

Heartland Express stock traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $8.19. The stock had a trading volume of 57,376 shares, compared to its average volume of 484,704. The stock has a market capitalization of $643.16 million, a PE ratio of -22.13 and a beta of 0.97. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 12 month low of $7.98 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. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.95.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.02. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 2.84% and a negative return on equity of 3.57%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 EPS for the current year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 25th. Heartland Express's payout ratio is -21.62%.

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.