Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) PT Lowered to $12.00

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) had its price objective cut by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $13.00 to $12.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the transportation company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 17.53% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Heartland Express from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.50.

Heartland Express Stock Performance

Shares of Heartland Express stock traded down $0.22 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $10.21. 157,497 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 308,116. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $11.75 and its 200 day moving average is $12.89. The stock has a market cap of $806.90 million, a PE ratio of 57.00 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. Heartland Express has a 12 month low of $10.00 and a 12 month high of $17.08.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12) by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $270.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $263.92 million. Heartland Express had a net margin of 1.22% and a return on equity of 1.71%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Heartland Express will post -0.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust purchased 14,933 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $12.39 per share, for a total transaction of $185,019.87. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 159,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,980,727.35. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 39.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HTLD. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 133.2% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 18,082 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 10,327 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Heartland Express by 99.2% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,224,494 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $17,988,000 after purchasing an additional 609,769 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in Heartland Express by 7.5% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 23,644 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,654 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Heartland Express by 5.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 29,391 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 1,497 shares during the period. Finally, Versor Investments LP bought a new position in Heartland Express in the third quarter worth $612,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.