Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $8.25.

Several research firms have issued reports on HTLD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Heartland Express from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Heartland Express from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Heartland Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 8th.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Express

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Heartland Express by 185.5% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,673 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 3,036 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the third quarter valued at about $89,000. Autumn Glory Partners LLC bought a new position in Heartland Express during the third quarter worth about $89,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Heartland Express by 51.3% during 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 period. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. acquired a new stake in Heartland Express in the 3rd quarter worth about $101,000. 53.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Heartland Express Stock Performance

Shares of HTLD stock opened at $9.19 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $8.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.43. Heartland Express has a one year low of $6.99 and a one year high of $12.19. The stock has a market cap of $711.77 million, a P/E ratio of -20.42 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The transportation company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.11). Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 4.01% and a negative return on equity of 4.37%. The company had revenue of $172.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $209.68 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Heartland Express will post 0.17 EPS for the current year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be given a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 26th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -17.78%.

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.