Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Downgraded by StockNews.com

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on HTLD. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Heartland Express from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 12th. Barclays dropped their price objective on 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.50.

Heartland Express Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of HTLD traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $10.33. The stock had a trading volume of 430,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 312,018. Heartland Express has a 12 month low of $10.00 and a 12 month high of $17.08. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market capitalization of $816.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.39 and a beta of 0.62.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12) by ($0.07). Heartland Express had a return on equity of 1.71% and a net margin of 1.22%. The firm had revenue of $270.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $263.92 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.16 earnings per share. Heartland Express’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Heartland Express will post -0.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Heartland Express news, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust bought 14,933 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $12.39 per share, with a total value of $185,019.87. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 159,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,980,727.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 39.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTLD. Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Heartland Express in the 3rd quarter worth about $244,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in Heartland Express in the 3rd quarter worth about $258,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Heartland Express by 133.2% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 18,082 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 10,327 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $327,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 23,644 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,654 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

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.