Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Stock Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average of $11.78

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $11.78 and traded as high as $12.34. Heartland Express shares last traded at $12.32, with a volume of 181,896 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HTLD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group cut Heartland Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $15.00 to $13.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays raised their target price on Heartland Express from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $10.00 price target (down from $12.00) on shares of Heartland Express in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Heartland Express from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Heartland Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.00.

Heartland Express Stock Down 0.5 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $973.91 million, a PE ratio of -72.47 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $12.34 and its 200 day moving average is $11.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.02. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 2.17% and a negative return on equity of 2.84%. The company had revenue of $274.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $275.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Heartland Express, Inc. will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 25th were given a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 25th. Heartland Express’s payout ratio is -47.06%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James G. Pratt purchased 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $11.96 per share, with a total value of $107,640.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 23,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $280,210.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 39.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Heartland Express by 132.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 225,713 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,695,000 after acquiring an additional 128,758 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Heartland Express during the first quarter worth about $673,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its holdings in Heartland Express by 84.0% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 136,195 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,626,000 after purchasing an additional 62,172 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its position in shares of Heartland Express by 292.4% during the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 108,999 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,301,000 after buying an additional 81,220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Heartland Express by 14.6% during the 1st quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 666,675 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,960,000 after buying an additional 84,739 shares during the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Heartland Express

Heartland Express, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a short-to-medium, and long-haul truckload carrier in the United States and Canada. It primarily provides nationwide asset-based dry van truckload service for shippers; cross-border freight and other transportation services; and temperature-controlled truckload services.