Analysts Set Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) Price Target at $8.25

Shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) have been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the seven research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $8.25.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HTLD. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Heartland Express from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Heartland Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 185.5% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,673 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 3,036 shares during the last quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Express during the 3rd quarter valued at about $89,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the third quarter worth approximately $89,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 51.3% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,549 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 3,918 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. bought a new position in Heartland Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $101,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

Heartland Express Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:HTLD opened at $9.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $712.54 million, a P/E ratio of -20.44 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Heartland Express has a one year low of $6.99 and a one year high of $12.19. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $8.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.43.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The transportation company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.11). Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 4.37% and a negative net margin of 4.01%.The company had revenue of $172.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $209.68 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Heartland Express will post 0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 26th. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -17.78%.

About Heartland Express

Heartland Express, Inc (NASDAQ: HTLD) is a publicly traded truckload carrier headquartered in North Liberty, Iowa. The company specializes in full truckload transportation, offering dry-van services that connect shippers with customers across the continental United States. Its primary focus is on over-the-road freight movements, serving industries such as manufacturing, retail, and consumer goods.

Founded in 1978 as Heartland Motor Freight, the company has grown from a regional carrier into one of the larger U.S.