Wall Street Zen Upgrades Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) to Buy

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Heartland Express to “buy” from “hold,” but the broader analyst consensus remains “hold,” with an average price target of $13.20.
• Heartland Express reported quarterly EPS of $0.14 on revenue of $184.13 million, slightly below estimates, while revenue fell 12.5% year over year and the company posted negative net margins.
• The stock opened at $12.23 after declining 3.9%; an insider sold 31,402 shares, while institutional investors own 53.45% of the company.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

HTLD has been the topic of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Heartland Express in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group raised their price target on Heartland Express from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $13.20.

Heartland Express Stock Down 3.9%

Shares of Heartland Express stock opened at $12.23 on Friday. Heartland Express has a 12-month low of $6.99 and a 12-month high of $16.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $14.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $947.70 million, a P/E ratio of -43.68 and a beta of 1.31.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The transportation company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 2.98% and a negative return on equity of 0.92%. The company had revenue of $184.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $185.08 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.14) earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Heartland Express will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Heartland Express

In related news, Director David Paul Millis sold 31,402 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.67, for a total transaction of $492,069.34. Following the transaction, the director owned 28,387 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $444,824.29. The trade was a 52.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 41.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Express

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Heartland Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,619,000. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 285.2% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 78,916 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $713,000 after acquiring an additional 58,428 shares during the period. Dean Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 73.9% during the 4th quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 136,909 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,236,000 after purchasing an additional 58,167 shares in the last quarter. Gate City Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Gate City Capital Management LLC now owns 2,192,807 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $19,801,000 after purchasing an additional 167,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Heartland Express by 90.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 529,514 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $4,782,000 after purchasing an additional 251,670 shares during the period. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Heartland Express

Heartland Express, Inc NASDAQ: HTLD is a publicly traded truckload carrier headquartered in North Liberty, Iowa. The company specializes in full truckload transportation, offering dry-van services that connect shippers with customers across the continental United States. Its primary focus is on over-the-road freight movements, serving industries such as manufacturing, retail, and consumer goods.

Founded in 1978 as Heartland Motor Freight, the company has grown from a regional carrier into one of the larger U.S.

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