Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $14.22 and last traded at $14.2090, with a volume of 246835 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $13.44.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on HTLD shares. UBS Group upped their price target on Heartland Express from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Barclays increased their price target on Heartland Express from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen raised Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Heartland Express from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Heartland Express has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $12.20.

Heartland Express Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.00 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $11.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.17.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The transportation company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.07. Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 3.70% and a negative net margin of 5.69%.The business had revenue of $153.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $177.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.18) EPS. Heartland Express’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HTLD. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,170 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $133,000. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Express during the first quarter valued at about $907,000. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new position in Heartland Express in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $462,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Heartland Express by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 126,736 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,095,000 after buying an additional 1,262 shares during the period. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Heartland Express Company 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.