Magnolia Group LLC Invests $4.06 Million in Heartland Express, Inc. $HTLD

Magnolia Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 484,700 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,062,000. Heartland Express accounts for approximately 0.6% of Magnolia Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 53,948 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 10,594 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Heartland Express by 13.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,408,307 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $12,168,000 after purchasing an additional 166,717 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Heartland Express by 11.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,241,432 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $10,727,000 after purchasing an additional 128,702 shares during the last quarter. Gate City Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Heartland Express by 167.6% in the second quarter. Gate City Capital Management LLC now owns 1,611,581 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $13,924,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bastion Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Heartland Express by 123.3% in the second quarter. Bastion Asset Management Inc. now owns 344,058 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,121,000 after purchasing an additional 190,011 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on HTLD shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on Heartland Express from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Heartland Express from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Baird R W upgraded Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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 Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.75.

Heartland Express Stock Down 5.0%

Shares of HTLD stock opened at $10.14 on Tuesday. Heartland Express, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $6.99 and a fifty-two week high of $12.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $784.96 million, a PE ratio of -22.61 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $8.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.55.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The transportation company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $172.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $209.68 million. Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 4.37% and a negative net margin of 4.01%. Equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 26th. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -17.78%.

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.