Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Price Target Raised to $13.00 at Morgan Stanley

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) had its price target upped by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $12.00 to $13.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential downside of 14.28% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Heartland Express from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $12.80.

Heartland Express Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ HTLD opened at $15.16 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $14.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.85. The company has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of -27.21 and a beta of 1.31. Heartland Express 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.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The transportation company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $153.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $177.30 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.18) EPS. The company’s revenue was down 19.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Heartland Express will post 0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Heartland Express

In other news, Director David Paul Millis sold 31,402 shares of the company’s 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 41.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Express

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted 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 valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake 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 in the 1st quarter worth $907,000. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the 2nd quarter worth $462,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings 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 valued at $1,095,000 after acquiring an additional 1,262 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

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.