JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trims Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Target Price to $12.00

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) had its target price lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $13.00 to $12.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on HTLD. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Heartland Express from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Barclays lowered their price target on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $13.50.

Heartland Express Price Performance

Shares of HTLD stock opened at $10.36 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $11.60 and its 200-day moving average is $12.82. Heartland Express has a 1 year low of $10.00 and a 1 year high of $17.08.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $270.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $263.92 million. Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 1.50% and a negative net margin of 1.13%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.16 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Heartland Express will post -0.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 26th were paid a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 25th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. Heartland Express’s payout ratio is -47.06%.

Insider Transactions at Heartland Express

In other Heartland Express news, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust acquired 14,933 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.39 per share, for a total transaction of $185,019.87. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 159,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,980,727.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 39.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Express

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings 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. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 99.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,224,494 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $17,988,000 after acquiring an additional 609,769 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 5.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 29,391 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 1,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP bought a new position in Heartland Express in the third quarter valued at $612,000. 53.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.