Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) Receives $10.20 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) has been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $10.20.

HTLD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird set a $12.00 price target on Heartland Express and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a report on Monday, December 22nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Heartland Express from $8.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Heartland Express from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd.

Heartland Express Price Performance

NASDAQ HTLD opened at $9.53 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Heartland Express has a 12 month low of $6.99 and a 12 month high of $12.13. The stock has a market cap of $738.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.01 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50 day moving average is $10.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.22.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The transportation company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $157.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $194.54 million. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 6.51% and a negative return on equity of 4.79%. The company’s revenue was down 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.12) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Heartland Express will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 24th will be paid a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 24th. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently -11.76%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HTLD. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Heartland Express during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Heartland Express by 76.7% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,905 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,261 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in Heartland Express by 185.5% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,673 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 3,036 shares during the last quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Heartland Express in the 3rd quarter worth $89,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Heartland Express during the 3rd quarter valued at about $89,000. 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.