JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Stock

Posted by Francis Steltz on Jul 31st, 2026

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD – Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $11.00 to $12.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underweight” rating on the transportation company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 3.81% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Heartland Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. 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 report on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.20.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on HTLD

Heartland Express Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of HTLD stock traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $12.47. 350,290 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 559,464. The stock has a market cap of $966.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.24 and a beta of 1.31. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $6.99 and a fifty-two week high of $16.64. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.54.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The transportation company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $184.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $185.08 million. Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 3.70% and a negative net margin of 5.69%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.14) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Heartland Express will post 0.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Heartland Express

In other news, Director David Paul Millis sold 31,402 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 28,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $444,824.29. This represents a 52.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 41.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Express

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Heartland Express by 18.1% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,525 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 999 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 46.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 233,496 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,428,000 after buying an additional 74,078 shares during the period. Amundi acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the first quarter valued at about $391,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 34.2% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 102,748 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,069,000 after buying an additional 26,157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dean Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 78.3% during the 1st quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 244,083 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,538,000 after buying an additional 107,174 shares during the period. 53.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Heartland Express Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.