Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) Major Shareholder Buys $86,875.86 in Stock

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust purchased 8,089 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $10.74 per share, for a total transaction of $86,875.86. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 849,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,119,097.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

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

• On Monday, April 29th, Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust acquired 93,496 shares of Heartland Express stock. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $10.12 per share, for a total transaction of $946,179.52.
• On Friday, April 26th, Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust bought 88,100 shares of Heartland Express stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $10.44 per share, with a total value of $919,764.00.
• On Thursday, February 22nd, Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust purchased 14,933 shares of Heartland Express stock. The stock was acquired at an average price of $12.39 per share, for a total transaction of $185,019.87.

Heartland Express Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of HTLD opened at $11.36 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $11.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.53. Heartland Express, Inc. has a twelve month low of $9.63 and a twelve month high of $17.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $897.83 million, a P/E ratio of -66.82 and a beta of 0.66.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by ($0.07). Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 1.50% and a negative net margin of 1.13%. The company had revenue of $270.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $263.92 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.16 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Heartland Express, Inc. will post -0.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 26th were given a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 25th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently -47.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on HTLD shares. StockNews.com cut Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.25.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Express

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Inspire Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Heartland Express by 23.3% in the first quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 14,715 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $176,000 after purchasing an additional 2,779 shares during the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $258,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Heartland Express by 133.2% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 18,082 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 10,327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $327,000. 53.45% of the stock is currently 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.