Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Issues Earnings Results

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The transportation company reported ($0.25) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by ($0.18), Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $179.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $194.54 million. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 4.01% and a negative return on equity of 4.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.12) EPS.

Heartland Express Price Performance

NASDAQ:HTLD traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $11.10. The company had a trading volume of 1,397,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 561,021. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $9.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.65. Heartland Express has a one year low of $6.99 and a one year high of $11.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $859.31 million, a PE ratio of -24.66 and a beta of 1.15.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th were given a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 26th. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio is -17.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Express

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of Heartland Express by 185.5% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,673 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 3,036 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Heartland Express by 51.3% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,549 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 3,918 shares in the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Heartland Express during the 2nd quarter worth $118,000. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Heartland Express by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 14,504 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 1,517 shares during the period. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Express during the second quarter worth $126,000. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HTLD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $9.00 price target on Heartland Express in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Robert W. Baird set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Heartland Express and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Heartland Express has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $9.75.

Heartland Express Company 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.