Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C Reduces Stock Holdings in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)

Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C lessened its holdings in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) by 83.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,547 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 56,281 shares during the period. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C’s holdings in Heartland Express were worth $130,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Heartland Express in the 4th quarter valued at $75,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Express during the fourth quarter worth $79,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the fourth quarter valued at $105,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Heartland Express during the fourth quarter worth about $134,000. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Heartland Express Price Performance

HTLD stock opened at $7.55 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $8.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.57. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 52-week low of $7.11 and a 52-week high of $13.67. The company has a market capitalization of $593.06 million, a PE ratio of -20.41 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The transportation company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($0.05). Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 3.57% and a negative net margin of 2.84%. The company had revenue of $219.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $241.37 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.19) earnings per share. Heartland Express’s revenue was down 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 25th. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -22.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Heartland Express from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Heartland Express from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd.

Insider Transactions at Heartland Express

In other news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin bought 148,272 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $7.85 per share, for a total transaction of $1,163,935.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,461,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,475,663.80. This trade represents a 11.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 40.70% of the company’s stock.

Heartland Express 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.