Heartland Express, Inc. $HTLD Position Trimmed by Legato Capital Management LLC

Legato Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) by 65.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 49,287 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 93,517 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC owned 0.06% of Heartland Express worth $413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of HTLD. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Heartland Express by 185.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,673 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 3,036 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Heartland Express in the third quarter worth about $89,000. Autumn Glory Partners LLC acquired a new position in Heartland Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $89,000. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. acquired a new position in Heartland Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $101,000. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Heartland Express during the second quarter valued at approximately $118,000. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Heartland Express from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird set a $12.00 price target on shares of Heartland Express and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $8.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $9.00 price objective on shares of Heartland Express in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $10.20.

Heartland Express Trading Up 2.3%

NASDAQ:HTLD opened at $11.26 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $872.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.56 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.04. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 1 year low of $6.99 and a 1 year high of $12.13. The business has a fifty day moving average of $10.63 and a 200-day moving average of $9.14.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The transportation company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $157.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $194.54 million. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 6.51% and a negative return on equity of 4.79%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.12) earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

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.