Insider Selling: Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Director Sells 31,402 Shares of Stock

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) Director David Paul Millis sold 31,402 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.67, for a total value of $492,069.34. Following the transaction, the director owned 28,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $444,824.29. This represents a 52.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Heartland Express Price Performance

NASDAQ:HTLD traded down $1.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $14.33. The stock had a trading volume of 646,823 shares, compared to its average volume of 535,169. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of -25.59 and a beta of 1.31. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 52 week low of $6.99 and a 52 week high of $16.64. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $13.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The transportation company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $177.30 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.18) earnings per share. Heartland Express’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be paid a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 23rd. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 4.4% in 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 last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in Heartland Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $133,000. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in Heartland Express in the 1st quarter worth about $907,000. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in Heartland Express in the second quarter worth about $462,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Heartland Express by 1.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 126,736 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,095,000 after purchasing an additional 1,262 shares during the last quarter. 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 recent research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on Heartland Express from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $12.00 price objective on Heartland Express in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Heartland Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Heartland Express has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $12.20.

About Heartland Express

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.