Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Share Price Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $12.43 and traded as high as $15.23. Heartland Express shares last traded at $14.83, with a volume of 630,261 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Heartland Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Heartland Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.80.

Heartland Express Stock 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of -25.50 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.44.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last announced its quarterly 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 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 last year, the business posted ($0.18) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -14.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Heartland Express news, Director David Paul Millis sold 31,402 shares of Heartland Express stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.67, for a total transaction of $492,069.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 28,387 shares in the company, valued at approximately $444,824.29. The trade was a 52.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 41.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Express

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Heartland Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Heartland Express by 76.7% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,905 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,261 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Heartland Express by 185.5% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,673 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 3,036 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 51.3% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,549 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 3,918 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 18.1% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,525 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 999 shares during the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.