Heartland Express, Inc. $HTLD Position Lifted by Gate City Capital Management LLC

Gate City Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) by 8.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,192,807 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 167,962 shares during the period. Heartland Express accounts for approximately 8.6% of Gate City Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Gate City Capital Management LLC owned about 2.83% of Heartland Express worth $19,801,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HTLD. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 27,708 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 1,170 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Express during the 1st quarter worth $133,000. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Express during the 1st quarter worth $907,000. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Express during the 2nd quarter worth $462,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 126,736 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,095,000 after acquiring an additional 1,262 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HTLD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on Heartland Express from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Heartland Express in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Heartland Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Heartland Express from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Heartland Express from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Heartland Express currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $12.20.

Heartland Express Price Performance

Heartland Express stock opened at $15.36 on Wednesday. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 12 month low of $6.99 and a 12 month high of $16.64. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of -27.43 and a beta of 1.31.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 3.70% and a negative net margin of 5.69%.The business had revenue of $153.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $177.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.18) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 23rd. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio is -14.29%.

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.