Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) Receives $10.20 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $10.20.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $12.00 target price on Heartland Express and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Barclays boosted their price target on Heartland Express from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Heartland Express from $8.50 to $11.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen cut Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a research note on Friday, March 27th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Express

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in Heartland Express by 92.6% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 35,684 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 17,161 shares in the last quarter. Dean Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 73.9% during the fourth quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 136,909 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,236,000 after buying an additional 58,167 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 405,220 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,659,000 after acquiring an additional 60,715 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 59.4% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 62,772 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $567,000 after acquiring an additional 23,381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 374,948 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,386,000 after acquiring an additional 37,190 shares in the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Heartland Express Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HTLD opened at $10.64 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $10.64 and a 200-day moving average of $9.38. Heartland Express has a 12 month low of $6.99 and a 12 month high of $12.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $824.17 million, a PE ratio of -15.65 and a beta of 1.11.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The transportation company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.01. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 6.51% and a negative return on equity of 4.79%. The business had revenue of $157.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $194.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.12) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Heartland Express will post 0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 24th were issued a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 24th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Heartland Express’s payout ratio is -11.76%.

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.