Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Given New $10.00 Price Target at Barclays

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) had its price objective cut by Barclays from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on HTLD. StockNews.com raised Heartland Express from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and set a $10.00 target price (down from $12.00) on shares of Heartland Express in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.50.

Heartland Express Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HTLD opened at $10.90 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $11.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.77. Heartland Express has a 52-week low of $9.63 and a 52-week high of $14.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $259.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $268.35 million. Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 2.70% and a negative net margin of 2.11%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.14) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Heartland Express will post -0.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin acquired 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $11.67 per share, for a total transaction of $583,500.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,196,718 shares in the company, valued at $13,965,699.06. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 39.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Express

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTLD. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 64.6% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,007 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Heartland Express by 266.3% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,729 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 1,984 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Heartland Express in the 1st quarter worth $62,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in Heartland Express during the second quarter valued at about $166,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Heartland Express by 23.3% during the first quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 14,715 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $176,000 after acquiring an additional 2,779 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

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.