Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Downgraded to “Neutral” at UBS Group

UBS Group downgraded shares of Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has $13.00 target price on the transportation company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $15.00.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Heartland Express from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an underweight rating and issued a $10.00 target price (down from $12.00) on shares of Heartland Express in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $12.80.

Heartland Express Stock Performance

Heartland Express stock opened at $12.03 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $950.97 million, a P/E ratio of -70.76 and a beta of 0.69. The company’s 50-day moving average is $11.63 and its 200 day moving average is $12.05. Heartland Express has a 1-year low of $9.63 and a 1-year high of $17.08.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12) by ($0.07). Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 1.13% and a negative return on equity of 1.50%. The business had revenue of $270.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $263.92 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.16 earnings per share. Heartland Express’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Heartland Express will post -0.13 EPS for the current year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 25th were issued a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 25th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently -47.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director James G. Pratt purchased 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $11.96 per share, with a total value of $107,640.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 23,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $280,210.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin purchased 31,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $9.97 per share, with a total value of $311,064.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 88,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $886,422.73. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James G. Pratt purchased 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $11.96 per share, with a total value of $107,640.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 23,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $280,210.84. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 405,490 shares of company stock valued at $4,237,451. Insiders own 39.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 26,561 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 970 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 6.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 30,780 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 1,965 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 266.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,729 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,984 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 23.3% during the first quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 14,715 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 2,779 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 8.5% during the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 40,456 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 3,180 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

Heartland Express Company Profile

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.