Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $16.09 and last traded at $15.8950, with a volume of 147621 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.75.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Heartland Express in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Heartland Express currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $12.20.

Heartland Express Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.82. The stock has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.07 and a beta of 1.31.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The transportation company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.07. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 5.69% and a negative return on equity of 3.70%. The firm had revenue of $153.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $177.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.18) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 19.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.04 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTLD. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Heartland Express by 4.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 27,708 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in Heartland Express during the first quarter worth $133,000. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in Heartland Express during the first quarter worth $907,000. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new position in Heartland Express during the second quarter worth $462,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Heartland Express by 1.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 126,736 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,095,000 after purchasing an additional 1,262 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

About Heartland Express

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.