Legato Capital Management LLC Sells 74,855 Shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)

Legato Capital Management LLC cut its position in shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) by 57.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 55,109 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 74,855 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Heartland Express were worth $618,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HTLD. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Heartland Express during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $6,634,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Heartland Express by 35.2% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 346,271 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,885,000 after purchasing an additional 90,100 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Heartland Express by 159.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 127,153 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,561,000 after purchasing an additional 78,237 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 175.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 104,085 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,278,000 after buying an additional 66,311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 326.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 83,848 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,029,000 after buying an additional 64,185 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

Heartland Express Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HTLD opened at $11.39 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $894.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.78 and a beta of 0.76. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.63 and a 12 month high of $13.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $11.36 and its 200 day moving average is $11.79.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.02. Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 3.57% and a negative net margin of 2.84%. Research analysts predict that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 EPS for the current year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -21.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on HTLD. UBS Group dropped their price target on Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays boosted their target price on Heartland Express from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th.

Insider Transactions at Heartland Express

In other news, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust purchased 49,506 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $12.24 per share, for a total transaction of $605,953.44. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 898,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,998,668.16. This trade represents a 5.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 39.60% of the company’s stock.

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.