Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Sets New 52-Week Low at $10.47

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $10.47 and last traded at $10.50, with a volume of 64892 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $10.68.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on HTLD shares. Barclays reduced their target price on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Heartland Express from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Heartland Express from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Heartland Express from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.75.

Heartland Express Trading Down 0.7 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $837.72 million, a P/E ratio of 59.33 and a beta of 0.62.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The transportation company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by $0.16. Heartland Express had a return on equity of 1.71% and a net margin of 1.22%. The company had revenue of $275.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $293.36 million. On average, analysts forecast that Heartland Express, Inc. will post -0.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 26th were issued a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 25th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heartland Express

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HTLD. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY grew its position in shares of Heartland Express by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 2,889 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Middle East FZE acquired a new stake in Heartland Express during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Heartland Express during the first quarter worth about $102,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Heartland Express by 287.4% during the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,737 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 5,740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Heartland Express by 11.1% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,495 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.