Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust Purchases 88,100 Shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) Stock

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust purchased 88,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $10.44 per share, with a total value of $919,764.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 583,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,093,953.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, April 29th, Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust purchased 93,496 shares of Heartland Express stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $10.12 per share, with a total value of $946,179.52.
• On Thursday, February 22nd, Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust purchased 14,933 shares of Heartland Express stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $12.39 per share, with a total value of $185,019.87.

Heartland Express Stock Down 0.2 %

HTLD stock traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $9.94. 1,323,506 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 340,565. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.26. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 1-year low of $9.63 and a 1-year high of $17.08. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.69. The company has a market cap of $785.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -58.47 and a beta of 0.62.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.19) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12) by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $270.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $263.92 million. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 1.13% and a negative return on equity of 1.50%. The business’s revenue was down 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.16 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Heartland Express, Inc. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 26th were issued a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 25th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Heartland Express’s payout ratio is -47.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HTLD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Express

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $244,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Heartland Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $258,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased 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 valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 10,327 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Heartland Express in the 4th quarter valued at $327,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in Heartland Express by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 23,644 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 1,654 shares during the period. 53.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Heartland Express

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.