Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. Acquires 40,765 Shares of Heartland Express, Inc. $HTLD

Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) by 14.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 330,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,765 shares during the period. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.43% of Heartland Express worth $3,440,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 72.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 1,153,238 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,664,000 after purchasing an additional 485,658 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Heartland Express by 150.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 799,491 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,700,000 after purchasing an additional 480,488 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in Heartland Express by 91.0% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 812,248 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,807,000 after purchasing an additional 386,961 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its stake in Heartland Express by 90.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 529,514 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,782,000 after purchasing an additional 251,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Heartland Express by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,873,653 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $40,285,000 after buying an additional 201,151 shares during the period. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Heartland Express Trading Down 3.7%

NASDAQ:HTLD opened at $14.28 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.50 and a beta of 1.31. Heartland Express, Inc. has a twelve month low of $6.99 and a twelve month high of $16.64. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $15.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The transportation company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.07. The company had revenue of $153.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $177.30 million. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 5.69% and a negative return on equity of 3.70%. The firm’s revenue 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, Inc. will post 0.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were given a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -14.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. 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. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.80.

Insider Transactions at Heartland Express

In other Heartland Express news, Director David Paul Millis sold 31,402 shares of Heartland Express stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.67, for a total value of $492,069.34. Following the sale, the director directly owned 28,387 shares in the company, valued at approximately $444,824.29. The trade was a 52.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 41.60% of the company’s stock.

Heartland Express 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.