Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Barclays dropped their price target on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Heartland Express from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.50.

Heartland Express Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HTLD opened at $10.10 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $798.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -59.29 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Heartland Express has a 12-month low of $10.00 and a 12-month high of $17.08. The business’s 50 day moving average is $11.65 and its 200 day moving average is $12.84.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $270.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $263.92 million. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 1.13% and a negative return on equity of 1.49%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.16 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Heartland Express will post -0.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heartland Express

In other news, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust bought 14,933 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $12.39 per share, for a total transaction of $185,019.87. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 159,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,980,727.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 39.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Express

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HTLD. Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the third quarter valued at $244,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the third quarter valued at $258,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Heartland Express by 133.2% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 18,082 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 10,327 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the fourth quarter valued at $327,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Heartland Express by 7.5% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 23,644 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,654 shares in the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Heartland Express Company Profile

Heartland Express, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a short-to-medium, and long-haul truckload carrier in the United States and Canada. It primarily provides nationwide asset-based dry van truckload service for shippers; cross-border freight and other transportation services; and temperature-controlled truckload services.