Insider Buying: Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) Director Buys $58,876.16 in Stock

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) Director James G. Pratt purchased 6,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.96 per share, with a total value of $58,876.16. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 30,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $268,800. This trade represents a 28.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Heartland Express Stock Performance

Shares of HTLD stock opened at $9.06 on Monday. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 12 month low of $7.11 and a 12 month high of $13.67. The stock has a market cap of $711.70 million, a PE ratio of -24.49 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $8.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.44.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The transportation company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.05). Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 2.84% and a negative return on equity of 3.57%. The business had revenue of $219.42 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $241.37 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.19) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were issued a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 25th. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -22.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on HTLD shares. Barclays dropped their price target on Heartland Express from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Heartland Express from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Express

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HTLD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Heartland Express by 159.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 127,153 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,561,000 after purchasing an additional 78,237 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Heartland Express by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 39,395 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 2,196 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the 4th quarter worth about $75,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Heartland Express by 35.2% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 346,271 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,885,000 after purchasing an additional 90,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the 4th quarter worth about $171,000. Institutional investors own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

About Heartland Express

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.