Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) CEO Michael J. Gerdin Buys 14,109 Shares of Stock

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) CEO Michael J. Gerdin bought 14,109 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $10.24 per share, for a total transaction of $144,476.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 196,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,012,303.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Heartland Express Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of HTLD opened at $10.77 on Friday. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 12-month low of $9.63 and a 12-month high of $17.08. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $11.34 and its 200-day moving average is $12.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12) by ($0.07). Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 1.13% and a negative return on equity of 1.50%. The company had revenue of $270.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $263.92 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.16 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Heartland Express, Inc. will post -0.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 26th were paid a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 25th. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio is -47.06%.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Express

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in Heartland Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the third quarter worth $258,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 133.2% during 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. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Express during the fourth quarter worth $327,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Heartland Express by 74.1% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 23,218 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 9,884 shares during the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on HTLD shares. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Heartland Express from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective 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, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.25.

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.