Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

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

HTLD has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays boosted their price target on Heartland Express from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley set a $9.00 target price on Heartland Express in a research note on Thursday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Heartland Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Baird R W upgraded shares of Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $9.75.

Heartland Express Trading Down 2.6%

NASDAQ HTLD opened at $10.39 on Friday. Heartland Express has a one year low of $6.99 and a one year high of $12.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $804.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.09 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $8.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.54.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The transportation company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $172.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $209.68 million. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 4.01% and a negative return on equity of 4.37%. Equities analysts forecast that Heartland Express will post 0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Heartland Express by 185.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,673 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 3,036 shares during the period. Autumn Glory Partners LLC acquired a new position in Heartland Express in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $89,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Heartland Express in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $89,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Heartland Express by 51.3% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,549 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 3,918 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $101,000. 53.45% of the stock is 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.