KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Purchases New Shares in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 9,300 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $105,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $75,000. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in Heartland Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $148,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Heartland Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $171,000. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new stake in Heartland Express during the 4th quarter valued at $176,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 17,310 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $194,000 after purchasing an additional 1,770 shares in the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Barclays lowered their price target on Heartland Express from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd.

Heartland Express Stock Down 1.4 %

Heartland Express stock opened at $8.63 on Friday. Heartland Express, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.11 and a twelve month high of $13.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market cap of $677.71 million, a PE ratio of -23.32 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $9.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.05.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.02. Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 3.57% and a negative net margin of 2.84%. On average, research analysts predict that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th were paid a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Heartland Express’s payout ratio is -21.62%.

Heartland Express Company 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.