Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $8.94 and traded as high as $11.65. Heartland Express shares last traded at $11.49, with a volume of 500,400 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on HTLD. Morgan Stanley set a $9.00 target price on shares of Heartland Express in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Robert W. Baird set a $12.00 price objective on Heartland Express and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Heartland Express from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $10.00.

Heartland Express Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $889.90 million, a P/E ratio of -16.90 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a 50-day moving average of $10.30 and a 200-day moving average of $8.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The transportation company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.01. Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 4.79% and a negative net margin of 6.51%.The firm had revenue of $179.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $194.54 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.12) EPS. The business’s revenue was down 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gate City Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 167.6% in the 2nd quarter. Gate City Capital Management LLC now owns 1,611,581 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $13,924,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009,388 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Heartland Express by 72.7% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 1,153,238 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,664,000 after buying an additional 485,658 shares during the period. Magnolia Group LLC bought a new stake in Heartland Express during the third quarter valued at $4,062,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Heartland Express by 150.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 799,491 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,700,000 after acquiring an additional 480,488 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in Heartland Express by 91.0% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 812,248 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,807,000 after acquiring an additional 386,961 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

Heartland Express Company Profile

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.