Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Shares Gap Down to $10.44

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $10.44, but opened at $10.20. Heartland Express shares last traded at $10.22, with a volume of 60,991 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on HTLD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays lowered their price target on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 1st. StockNews.com raised Heartland Express from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Heartland Express from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.75.

Heartland Express Stock Down 2.1 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $807.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.00 and a beta of 0.62.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The transportation company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by $0.16. The business had revenue of $275.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $293.36 million. Heartland Express had a return on equity of 1.71% and a net margin of 1.22%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Heartland Express, Inc. will post -0.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 26th were paid a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 25th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Heartland Express’s payout ratio is 44.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Heartland Express news, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust acquired 14,933 shares of Heartland Express stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $12.39 per share, with a total value of $185,019.87. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 159,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,980,727.35. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 39.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Express

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY boosted its stake in Heartland Express by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 2,889 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 613 shares in the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 41,369 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $597,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,495 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Heartland Express by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 22,857 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Credit Suisse AG lifted its holdings in Heartland Express by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 57,624 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $884,000 after purchasing an additional 770 shares during the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Heartland Express

Heartland Express, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a short-to-medium, and long-haul truckload carrier in the United States and Canada. It primarily provides nationwide asset-based dry van truckload service for shippers; cross-border freight and other transportation services; and temperature-controlled truckload services.