Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $14.22 and last traded at $14.2090, with a volume of 246835 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $13.44.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HTLD. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Heartland Express from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $12.00 target price on Heartland Express in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $12.20.

Heartland Express Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.00 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.17.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The transportation company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.07. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 5.69% and a negative return on equity of 3.70%. The firm had revenue of $153.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $177.30 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.18) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 19.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Express

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Magnolia Group LLC acquired a new position in Heartland Express in the third quarter valued at about $4,062,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its holdings in Heartland Express by 237.4% during the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 103,373 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $866,000 after purchasing an additional 72,739 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Heartland Express by 183.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 68,875 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $577,000 after purchasing an additional 44,566 shares in the last quarter. Tweedy Browne Co LLC increased its holdings in Heartland Express by 104.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tweedy Browne Co LLC now owns 68,750 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $576,000 after purchasing an additional 35,086 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Heartland Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $328,000. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Heartland Express Company Profile

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.