Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) Receives Consensus Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) have earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $13.00.

A number of analysts have issued reports on HTLD shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a report on Monday. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Heartland Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th.

Heartland Express Price Performance

NASDAQ:HTLD opened at $11.37 on Friday. Heartland Express has a 12-month low of $6.99 and a 12-month high of $16.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $879.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -40.61 and a beta of 1.33. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $12.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The transportation company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $152.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $185.08 million. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 2.98% and a negative return on equity of 0.92%. Heartland Express’s quarterly revenue was down 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.14) EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Heartland Express will post 0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 25th will be given a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 25th. Heartland Express’s payout ratio is currently -28.57%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Express during the second quarter worth about $104,523,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Heartland Express by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,873,653 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $40,285,000 after acquiring an additional 201,151 shares during the last quarter. Gate City Capital Management LLC increased its position in Heartland Express by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Gate City Capital Management LLC now owns 2,192,807 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $19,801,000 after acquiring an additional 167,962 shares during the period. Wallace Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Heartland Express during the second quarter valued at $14,687,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 34.7% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 588,810 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,124,000 after purchasing an additional 151,589 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

Heartland Express Company Profile

Heartland Express, Inc is a transportation and logistics company that provides asset-based truckload services in North America. The company primarily operates a fleet of dry van tractors and trailers, transporting general freight that does not require temperature control.

Its services include irregular-route and regional truckload transportation, dedicated freight, expedited shipping, and logistics support. Heartland Express serves customers across the United States and also provides cross-border transportation involving Canada and Mexico.

Founded in 1978, the company is headquartered in North Liberty, Iowa.