Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. Has $3.44 Million Stock Position in Heartland Express, Inc. $HTLD

Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) by 14.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 330,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,765 shares during the quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Heartland Express were worth $3,440,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in HTLD. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 4.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 27,708 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 1,170 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in Heartland Express during the first quarter worth $133,000. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in Heartland Express in the first quarter valued at $907,000. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new stake in Heartland Express in the second quarter valued at $462,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Heartland Express by 1.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 126,736 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,095,000 after acquiring an additional 1,262 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Heartland Express news, Director David Paul Millis sold 31,402 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.67, for a total value of $492,069.34. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 28,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $444,824.29. This represents a 52.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 41.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Heartland Express Trading Down 3.7%

HTLD stock opened at $14.28 on Friday. Heartland Express, Inc. has a one year low of $6.99 and a one year high of $16.64. The stock has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.50 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $15.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The transportation company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.07. The company had revenue of $153.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $177.30 million. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 5.69% and a negative return on equity of 3.70%. Heartland Express’s quarterly revenue was down 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.18) EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.08 EPS for the current year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were issued a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 23rd. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently -14.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HTLD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Zacks Research upgraded Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Heartland Express from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Heartland Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.80.

Heartland Express 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.