Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) CEO Michael J. Gerdin Buys 148,272 Shares

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) CEO Michael J. Gerdin acquired 148,272 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.50 per share, with a total value of $1,260,312.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 438,282 shares in the company, valued at $3,725,397. The trade was a 51.13% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Heartland Express Price Performance

HTLD opened at $8.91 on Wednesday. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 1-year low of $7.11 and a 1-year high of $13.67. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.49. 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 stock has a market cap of $699.70 million, a PE ratio of -24.08 and a beta of 1.04.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The transportation company reported ($0.18) earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $241.37 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.19) EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th were paid a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 25th. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -22.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays cut their price objective on Heartland Express from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Heartland Express by 165.8% in the 1st quarter. Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 73,645 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $679,000 after acquiring an additional 45,934 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its position in Heartland Express by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 282,190 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,602,000 after buying an additional 42,110 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Heartland Express during the 1st quarter worth $397,000. Enhancing Capital LLC bought a new position in Heartland Express during the 1st quarter worth $533,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in Heartland Express by 26.6% during the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 136,925 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,262,000 after buying an additional 28,795 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

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.