Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Heartland Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.20.

Heartland Express Stock Performance

NASDAQ HTLD opened at $12.23 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $947.70 million, a P/E ratio of -43.68 and a beta of 1.33. Heartland Express has a fifty-two week low of $6.99 and a fifty-two week high of $16.64. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.58.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The transportation company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 0.92% and a negative net margin of 2.98%.The firm had revenue of $184.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $185.08 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.14) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Heartland Express will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Paul Millis sold 31,402 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.67, for a total transaction of $492,069.34. Following the sale, the director owned 28,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $444,824.29. The trade was a 52.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 41.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Express

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 72.7% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 1,153,238 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,664,000 after acquiring an additional 485,658 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Heartland Express by 150.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 799,491 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,700,000 after purchasing an additional 480,488 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in shares of Heartland Express by 91.0% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 812,248 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,807,000 after purchasing an additional 386,961 shares during the last quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Heartland Express in the 4th quarter worth about $2,619,000. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Heartland Express by 90.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 529,514 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,782,000 after purchasing an additional 251,670 shares in the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.