Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Upgraded by Baird R W to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Baird R W upgraded shares of Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the company. Zacks Research raised Heartland Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $12.00 price objective on Heartland Express and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Heartland Express from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Heartland Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.25.

Heartland Express Price Performance

Shares of HTLD opened at $9.84 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $762.11 million, a P/E ratio of -21.87 and a beta of 1.13. Heartland Express has a 1 year low of $6.99 and a 1 year high of $12.19. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $8.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The transportation company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $172.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $209.68 million. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 4.01% and a negative return on equity of 4.37%. On average, equities analysts predict that Heartland Express will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be given a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 26th. Heartland Express’s payout ratio is currently -17.78%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTLD. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 185.5% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,673 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 3,036 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Heartland Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $89,000. Autumn Glory Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Heartland Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $89,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 51.3% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,549 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 3,918 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $101,000. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.