Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) Receives Consensus Rating of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $13.00.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen cut Heartland Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 19th. Barclays decreased their price target on Heartland Express from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a research report on Monday, September 21st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the second quarter worth about $104,523,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Heartland Express by 34.7% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 588,810 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,124,000 after purchasing an additional 151,589 shares during the last quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Heartland Express in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,049,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Heartland Express in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,560,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,766,000. Institutional investors own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

Heartland Express Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of HTLD opened at $11.64 on Friday. Heartland Express has a fifty-two week low of $6.99 and a fifty-two week high of $16.64. The firm has a market cap of $900.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.57 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $12.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.58.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The transportation company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $152.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $185.08 million. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 2.98% and a negative return on equity of 0.92%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.14) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Heartland Express will post 0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Friday, September 25th will be paid a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 25th. Heartland Express’s payout ratio is presently -28.57%.

Heartland Express Company Profile

Heartland Express, Inc is a transportation and logistics company that provides asset-based truckload services in North America. The company primarily operates a fleet of dry van tractors and trailers, transporting general freight that does not require temperature control.

Its services include irregular-route and regional truckload transportation, dedicated freight, expedited shipping, and logistics support. Heartland Express serves customers across the United States and also provides cross-border transportation involving Canada and Mexico.

Founded in 1978, the company is headquartered in North Liberty, Iowa.