Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Buys 970 Shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 26,561 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 970 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Heartland Express were worth $379,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Heartland Express by 115.0% during the third quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 394,367 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $5,793,000 after acquiring an additional 210,935 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates bought a new stake in Heartland Express during the fourth quarter worth $8,559,000. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Heartland Express by 7.5% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 23,644 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,654 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Heartland Express by 141.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 43,679 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $623,000 after acquiring an additional 25,597 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in Heartland Express by 1.0% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 104,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,529,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust purchased 14,933 shares of Heartland Express stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $12.39 per share, for a total transaction of $185,019.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 159,865 shares in the company, valued at $1,980,727.35. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Heartland Express news, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust bought 14,933 shares of Heartland Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.39 per share, for a total transaction of $185,019.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 159,865 shares in the company, valued at $1,980,727.35. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Gerdin bought 31,200 shares of Heartland Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $9.97 per share, with a total value of $311,064.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 88,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $886,422.73. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 295,729 shares of company stock worth $3,072,787. 39.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Heartland Express Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HTLD opened at $10.40 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $821.91 million, a PE ratio of -61.18 and a beta of 0.62. Heartland Express, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $9.63 and a fifty-two week high of $17.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $11.41 and a 200-day moving average of $12.68.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $270.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $263.92 million. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 1.13% and a negative return on equity of 1.50%. Heartland Express’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.16 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Heartland Express, Inc. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 26th were given a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 25th. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -47.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on HTLD shares. Barclays dropped their price target on Heartland Express from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Heartland Express from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.25.

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.