Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on HTLD. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Heartland Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Heartland Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.80.

Heartland Express Stock Performance

Shares of Heartland Express stock opened at $15.04 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $14.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.14. Heartland Express has a 52 week low of $6.99 and a 52 week high of $16.64. The company has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of -26.86 and a beta of 1.31.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The transportation company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.07. The business had revenue of $153.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $177.30 million. Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 3.70% and a negative net margin of 5.69%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.18) earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Heartland Express will post 0.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Heartland Express

In other news, Director David Paul Millis sold 31,402 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.67, for a total value of $492,069.34. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 28,387 shares in the company, valued at approximately $444,824.29. The trade was a 52.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 41.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Express

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Heartland Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,619,000. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Heartland Express by 285.2% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 78,916 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $713,000 after acquiring an additional 58,428 shares in the last quarter. Dean Capital Management boosted its position in Heartland Express by 73.9% during the 4th quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 136,909 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,236,000 after acquiring an additional 58,167 shares in the last quarter. Gate City Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Gate City Capital Management LLC now owns 2,192,807 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $19,801,000 after acquiring an additional 167,962 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 90.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 529,514 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,782,000 after acquiring an additional 251,670 shares during the period. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.