Heartland Express, Inc. $HTLD Shares Sold by Legato Capital Management LLC

Legato Capital Management LLC lessened its position in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) by 65.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 49,287 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 93,517 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Heartland Express were worth $413,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Gate City Capital Management LLC raised its position in Heartland Express by 167.6% in the second quarter. Gate City Capital Management LLC now owns 1,611,581 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $13,924,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009,388 shares in the last quarter. Magnolia Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Heartland Express during the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,062,000. Bastion Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 123.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bastion Asset Management Inc. now owns 344,058 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,121,000 after purchasing an additional 190,011 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,408,307 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $12,168,000 after purchasing an additional 166,717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Heartland Express by 11.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,241,432 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $10,727,000 after purchasing an additional 128,702 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on HTLD shares. Robert W. Baird set a $12.00 price target on shares of Heartland Express and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley set a $9.00 target price on Heartland Express in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Heartland Express from $8.50 to $11.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Heartland Express currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $10.20.

Heartland Express Trading Up 2.3%

NASDAQ HTLD opened at $11.26 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $10.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.04. Heartland Express, Inc. has a twelve month low of $6.99 and a twelve month high of $12.13. The stock has a market cap of $872.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.56 and a beta of 1.13.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The transportation company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $157.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $194.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.12) earnings per share. Heartland Express’s revenue was down 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 EPS for the current year.

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.