Analyzing Heartland Express (HTLD) & Its Competitors

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) is one of 101 publicly-traded companies in the “Ground Transportation” industry, but how does it compare to its competitors? We will compare Heartland Express to related companies based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, earnings, dividends, valuation and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Heartland Express and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Heartland Express	-1.77%	0.30%	0.20%
Heartland Express Competitors	6.87%	12.61%	4.01%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

53.4% of Heartland Express shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 58.1% of shares of all “Ground Transportation” companies are owned by institutional investors. 41.6% of Heartland Express shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 14.8% of shares of all “Ground Transportation” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Heartland Express has a beta of 1.39, meaning that its stock price is 39% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Heartland Express’ competitors have a beta of 1.14, meaning that their average stock price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Heartland Express pays an annual dividend of $0.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Heartland Express pays out -50.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Ground Transportation” companies pay a dividend yield of 1.5% and pay out 26.9% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Heartland Express and its competitors top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Heartland Express	$805.71 million	-$52.45 million	-65.28
Heartland Express Competitors	$8.60 billion	$896.49 million	31.17

Heartland Express’ competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Heartland Express. Heartland Express is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Heartland Express and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Heartland Express	3	4	0	0	1.57
Heartland Express Competitors	1379	6536	8699	267	2.47

Heartland Express presently has a consensus target price of $11.80, suggesting a potential upside of 12.97%. As a group, “Ground Transportation” companies have a potential upside of 16.19%. Given Heartland Express’ competitors stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Heartland Express has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Summary

Heartland Express competitors beat Heartland Express on 12 of the 15 factors compared.

Heartland Express Company Profile

Heartland Express, Inc. is a truckload transportation company headquartered in North Liberty, Iowa. The company provides freight services primarily using dry-van equipment, moving goods for shippers across a range of industries. Founded in 1978, Heartland Express has expanded through acquisitions and operates under brands that include Heartland Express, CFI, Millis Transfer and Smith Transport. Its services include regional and long-haul transportation, with operations serving customers across the United States and cross-border markets in North America.