Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Heartland Express from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Heartland Express from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.20.

Heartland Express Stock Performance

HTLD opened at $12.23 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $14.92 and its 200 day moving average is $12.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $947.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.68 and a beta of 1.31. Heartland Express has a 12-month low of $6.99 and a 12-month high of $16.64.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The transportation company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 2.98% and a negative return on equity of 0.92%. The business had revenue of $184.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $185.08 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.14) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Heartland Express will post 0.08 EPS for the current year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were issued a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently -28.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Heartland Express news, Director David Paul Millis sold 31,402 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.67, for a total transaction of $492,069.34. Following the sale, the director directly owned 28,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $444,824.29. This trade represents a 52.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 41.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Express

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Express during the 4th quarter worth about $2,619,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Heartland Express by 285.2% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 78,916 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $713,000 after purchasing an additional 58,428 shares during the last quarter. Dean Capital Management raised its position in Heartland Express by 73.9% in the 4th quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 136,909 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,236,000 after purchasing an additional 58,167 shares during the period. Gate City Capital Management LLC raised its position in Heartland Express by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Gate City Capital Management LLC now owns 2,192,807 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $19,801,000 after purchasing an additional 167,962 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Heartland Express by 90.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 529,514 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,782,000 after purchasing an additional 251,670 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

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.