Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Sets New 52-Week Low at $10.47

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) shares reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $10.47 and last traded at $10.50, with a volume of 64892 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.68.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on HTLD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Heartland Express from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.75.

Heartland Express Stock Down 1.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The company has a market cap of $817.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.44 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.99.

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

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 26th were issued a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 25th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust bought 14,933 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $12.39 per share, for a total transaction of $185,019.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 159,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,980,727.35. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 39.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Heartland Express by 0.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 7,944,508 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $116,705,000 after buying an additional 55,720 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Heartland Express by 1.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,323,725 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $76,182,000 after purchasing an additional 79,812 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Heartland Express by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,172,549 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $45,241,000 after purchasing an additional 264,313 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Heartland Express by 6.3% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,242,869 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $31,601,000 after purchasing an additional 131,978 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Heartland Express by 99.2% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,224,494 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $17,988,000 after purchasing an additional 609,769 shares during the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Heartland Express Company Profile

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.