Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.07 EPS

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) released its earnings results on Thursday. The transportation company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.07, Zacks reports. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 6.51% and a negative return on equity of 4.79%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.18) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Heartland Express Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of HTLD stock traded up $0.30 on Thursday, hitting $11.88. The stock had a trading volume of 153,083 shares, compared to its average volume of 492,154. The business has a 50 day moving average of $10.70 and a 200 day moving average of $9.63. The stock has a market cap of $920.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.60 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Heartland Express has a 12-month low of $6.99 and a 12-month high of $12.22.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 24th were issued a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 24th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently -11.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $9.00 price objective on shares of Heartland Express in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Heartland Express and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $8.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a report on Friday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $10.20.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Express

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quarry LP bought a new position in Heartland Express in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Heartland Express by 76.7% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,905 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,261 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Heartland Express by 185.5% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,673 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 3,036 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Heartland Express by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,549 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 3,918 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC grew its stake in Heartland Express by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 12,252 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 870 shares during the period. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Heartland Express Company Profile

Heartland Express, Inc (NASDAQ: HTLD) is a publicly traded truckload carrier headquartered in North Liberty, Iowa. The company specializes in full truckload transportation, offering dry-van services that connect shippers with customers across the continental United States. Its primary focus is on over-the-road freight movements, serving industries such as manufacturing, retail, and consumer goods.

Founded in 1978 as Heartland Motor Freight, the company has grown from a regional carrier into one of the larger U.S.