Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Director David Paul Millis Sells 31,402 Shares of Stock

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) Director David Paul Millis sold 31,402 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.67, for a total value of $492,069.34. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 28,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $444,824.29. The trade was a 52.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Heartland Express Stock Down 6.7%

Shares of NASDAQ HTLD opened at $14.33 on Thursday. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 12 month low of $6.99 and a 12 month high of $16.64. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.59 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50-day moving average of $13.53 and a 200-day moving average of $11.34.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The transportation company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $153.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $177.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.18) earnings per share. Heartland Express’s revenue was down 19.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Heartland Express’s payout ratio is presently -14.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on HTLD shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Heartland Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Heartland Express from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays upped their target price on Heartland Express from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $12.00 target price on Heartland Express in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $12.20.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Express

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jump Financial LLC boosted its stake in Heartland Express by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 12,252 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 870 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in 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 worth $255,000 after buying an additional 1,170 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Heartland Express by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,905 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,261 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Heartland Express by 1.0% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Heartland Express by 11.7% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 14,504 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $125,000 after buying an additional 1,517 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

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.