Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The transportation company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.07, Zacks reports. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 6.51% and a negative return on equity of 4.79%. The company’s revenue was down 19.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.18) EPS.

Heartland Express Stock Performance

Shares of HTLD traded up $0.45 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $12.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 145,414 shares, compared to its average volume of 492,067. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.63. The company has a market cap of $931.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.64 and a beta of 1.11. Heartland Express has a 52-week low of $6.99 and a 52-week high of $12.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 24th were paid a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 24th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -11.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on HTLD shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Barclays lifted 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 Tuesday, March 3rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $8.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $9.00 target price on shares of Heartland Express in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $12.00 target price on shares of Heartland Express and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $10.20.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Express

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jump Financial LLC grew its stake in Heartland Express by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 12,252 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 870 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Heartland Express by 4.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 27,708 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 1,170 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Heartland Express by 76.7% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,905 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,261 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Heartland Express by 1.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 126,736 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,095,000 after acquiring an additional 1,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC grew its stake in Heartland Express by 11.7% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 14,504 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 1,517 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

About Heartland Express

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.