Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Shares Gap Up Following Insider Buying Activity

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) gapped up before the market opened on Monday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $10.77, but opened at $11.21. Heartland Express shares last traded at $11.01, with a volume of 115,030 shares changing hands.

Specifically, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust bought 14,933 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $12.39 per share, for a total transaction of $185,019.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 159,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,980,727.35. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust bought 14,933 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $12.39 per share, with a total value of $185,019.87. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 159,865 shares in the company, valued at $1,980,727.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Gerdin purchased 93,496 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $10.81 per share, for a total transaction of $1,010,691.76. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 290,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,135,008.10. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 403,334 shares of company stock worth $4,227,955 in the last three months. 39.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HTLD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased 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 report on Tuesday, April 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Heartland Express from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.25.

Heartland Express Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $11.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.60.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by ($0.07). Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 1.50% and a negative net margin of 1.13%. The company had revenue of $270.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $263.92 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.16 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Heartland Express, Inc. will post -0.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 26th were issued a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 25th. Heartland Express’s payout ratio is currently -47.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake 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 valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 970 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its position in Heartland Express by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 104,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Heartland Express by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 29,391 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 1,497 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in Heartland Express by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 23,644 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,654 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 27,878 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $409,000 after acquiring an additional 2,693 shares during the last quarter. 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.