Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Upgraded at Baird R W

Baird R W upgraded shares of Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

HTLD has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Heartland Express from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Heartland Express in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $9.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $9.75.

Heartland Express Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ HTLD opened at $9.13 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $8.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $716.77 million, a P/E ratio of -25.35 and a beta of 1.05. Heartland Express has a 1 year low of $7.11 and a 1 year high of $13.67.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The transportation company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $219.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $241.37 million. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 2.86% and a negative return on equity of 3.46%. Heartland Express’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.19) EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Heartland Express will post 0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 23rd were paid a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 23rd. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -22.22%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director James G. Pratt purchased 6,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.96 per share, with a total value of $58,876.16. Following the acquisition, the director owned 30,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $268,800. This represents a 28.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Gerdin acquired 148,272 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.50 per share, with a total value of $1,260,312.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 438,282 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,725,397. The trade was a 51.13% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 619,031 shares of company stock valued at $5,125,232 in the last ninety days. 40.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of HTLD. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,506,139 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $39,338,000 after acquiring an additional 123,399 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Heartland Express by 6.8% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 959,257 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,844,000 after purchasing an additional 60,968 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Heartland Express by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 730,368 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $8,195,000 after purchasing an additional 63,493 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 696,823 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,818,000 after purchasing an additional 157,892 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the first quarter worth about $6,389,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

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.