Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Stock Price Down 4.4% – Should You Sell?

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) traded down 4.4% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $11.46 and last traded at $11.29. 96,333 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 346,168 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.81.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on HTLD shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Heartland Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.75.

Heartland Express Stock Down 0.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $894.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.31 and a beta of 0.77.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.02. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 2.11% and a negative return on equity of 2.70%. On average, equities analysts expect that Heartland Express, Inc. will post -0.38 EPS for the current year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently -27.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heartland Express

In other Heartland Express news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin purchased 35,960 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $11.97 per share, with a total value of $430,441.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,311,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,703,598.61. This represents a 2.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust bought 49,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $12.24 per share, with a total value of $605,953.44. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 898,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,998,668.16. This trade represents a 5.83 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 153,750 shares of company stock valued at $1,786,918 over the last 90 days. 39.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Express

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HTLD. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Heartland Express by 7.8% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 26,362 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $325,000 after acquiring an additional 1,913 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 39,395 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 2,196 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 85.7% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,069 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 2,340 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 100,921 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,244,000 after purchasing an additional 5,804 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Heartland Express in the fourth quarter valued at $75,000. 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.