Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Sees Large Volume Increase

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 273,434 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 16% from the previous session’s volume of 325,866 shares.The stock last traded at $9.66 and had previously closed at $9.96.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on HTLD shares. StockNews.com downgraded Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays dropped their price target on Heartland Express from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.25.

Heartland Express Trading Down 1.8 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $772.91 million, a P/E ratio of -56.94 and a beta of 0.62.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.19) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12) by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $270.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was down 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.16 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Heartland Express, Inc. will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 26th were issued a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 25th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -47.06%.

Insider Transactions at Heartland Express

In other news, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust bought 14,933 shares of Heartland Express stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $12.39 per share, with a total value of $185,019.87. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 159,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,980,727.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 39.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTLD. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew 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 acquiring an additional 609,769 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 1,654 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 1,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $612,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

About Heartland Express

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.