Insider Buying: Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) Major Shareholder Buys 88,100 Shares of Stock

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust acquired 88,100 shares of Heartland Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $10.44 per share, for a total transaction of $919,764.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 583,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,093,953.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, April 29th, Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust acquired 93,496 shares of Heartland Express stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $10.12 per share, for a total transaction of $946,179.52.
• On Thursday, February 22nd, Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust acquired 14,933 shares of Heartland Express stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $12.39 per share, for a total transaction of $185,019.87.

Heartland Express Stock Performance

Shares of HTLD traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $9.94. 1,323,506 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 340,565. The firm has a market capitalization of $785.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -58.47 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.37. Heartland Express, Inc. has a twelve month low of $9.63 and a twelve month high of $17.08. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.69.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.19) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12) by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $270.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $263.92 million. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 1.13% and a negative return on equity of 1.50%. Heartland Express’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.16 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Heartland Express, Inc. will post -0.04 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 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 26th were issued a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 25th. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -47.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HTLD has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Heartland Express from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Heartland Express from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in Heartland Express during the third quarter worth about $244,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Heartland Express during the third quarter worth about $258,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Heartland Express by 133.2% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 18,082 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 10,327 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Heartland Express during the fourth quarter worth about $327,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in Heartland Express by 7.5% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 23,644 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,654 shares during the period. 53.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Heartland Express

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.