Heartland Express (HTLD) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ: HTLD) is a transportation and logistics company that provides truckload freight services across North America. Its operations primarily involve the over-the-road movement of general, non-refrigerated freight using dry van equipment.

The company offers irregular-route and dedicated transportation services to shippers, along with logistics and related freight solutions. Heartland Express serves customers throughout the contiguous United States and, through its broader network, supports cross-border freight movements involving Canada and Mexico.

Founded in 1978 by Russell Gerdin, the company is headquartered in North Liberty, Iowa. Heartland Express expanded its operations through the 2022 acquisition of Contract Freighters, Inc. from TFI International. Michael Gerdin serves as the company’s chairman and chief executive officer.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $10.77 to $11.28
• 50-Day Range: $10.86 to $12.84
• 52-Week Range: $6.99 to $16.64
• Volume: 125,353 shs
• Average Volume: 603,540 shs
• Market Capitalization: $836.74 million
• P/E Ratio: N/A
• Dividend Yield: 0.74%
• Price Target: $13.00
• Consensus Rating: Reduce

Heartland Express Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Heartland Express scored higher than 69% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 401st out of 658 stocks in the industrials sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 3.5 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Reduce

Consensus Rating

Heartland Express has received a consensus rating of Reduce. The company's average rating score is 1.71, and is based on no strong buy ratings, 1 buy rating, 3 hold ratings, and 3 sell ratings.

Upside Potential

Heartland Express has a consensus price target of $13.00, representing about 20.3% upside from its current price of $10.81.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Heartland Express has been the subject of 5 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 1.9 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 338.46%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Heartland Express are expected to grow by 338.46% in the coming year, from $0.13 to $0.57 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Heartland Express is -38.70, which means that its earnings are negative and its P/E ratio cannot be compared to companies with positive earnings.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Heartland Express is -38.70, which means that its earnings are negative and its P/E ratio cannot be compared to companies with positive earnings.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Heartland Express has a P/B Ratio of 1.11. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 2.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Bearish

Percentage of Shares Shorted

7.90% of the float of Heartland Express has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Heartland Express has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 3.9, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Heartland Express has recently increased by 1.95%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing.

Dividend

• Score: 0.8 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Weak

Dividend Yield

Heartland Express has a dividend yield of 0.74%, which is in the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

Dividend Growth

Heartland Express does not have a long track record of dividend growth.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, Heartland Express will have a dividend payout ratio of 14.04% next year. This indicates that Heartland Express will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

News and Social Media

• Score: 2.7 / 5
• News Sentiment: 0.36

News Sentiment

Heartland Express has a news sentiment score of 0.36. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a lower news sentiment than the 0.58 average news sentiment score of Industrials companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 3 news articles for Heartland Express this week, compared to 2 articles on an average week.

MarketBeat Follows

1 people have added Heartland Express to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 1.4 / 5
• Insider Trading: N/A

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Heartland Express insiders have not sold or bought any company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

41.60% of the stock of Heartland Express is held by insiders. A high percentage of insider ownership can be a sign of company health.

Percentage Held by Institutions

53.45% of the stock of Heartland Express is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 8/05/2026
• Record date for 10/7 Dividend: 9/25/2026
• Ex-Dividend for 10/7 Dividend: 9/25/2026
• Dividend Payable: 10/07/2026
• Today: 10/16/2026
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 10/29/2026
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2026

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NASDAQ
• Sector: Industrials
• Industry: Ground Transportation
• Sub-Industry: Cargo Ground Transportation
• Current Symbol: NASDAQ:HTLD
• CIK: 799233
• Web: www.heartlandexpress.com
• Phone: (319) 626-3600
• Fax: 319-626-3311
• Employees: 4,560
• Year Founded: 1978

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for Heartland Express: $13.00
• High Price Target: $15.00
• Low Price Target: $12.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +20.1%
• Consensus Rating: Reduce
• Rating Score (0-4): 1.71
• Research Coverage: 7 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): ($0.28)
• Trailing P/E Ratio: N/A
• Forward P/E Ratio: 83.23
• P/E Growth: N/A
• Net Income: -$52.45 million
• Net Margins: -2.98%
• Pretax Margin: -3.44%
• Return on Equity: -0.92%
• Return on Assets: -0.58%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.18
• Current Ratio: 1.58
• Quick Ratio: 1.58

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $736.29 million
• Price / Sales: 1.14
• Cash Flow: $1.57 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 6.91
• Book Value: $9.75 per share
• Price / Book: 1.11

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 77,333,000
• Free Float: 45,162,000
• Market Cap: $836.74 million
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 1.35