The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $222,000 Position in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its stake in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) by 31.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,059 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 8,303 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Heartland Express were worth $222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HTLD. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Heartland Express by 64.6% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 1,007 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Heartland Express by 266.3% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,729 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 1,984 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Heartland Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $124,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in Heartland Express during the second quarter worth $166,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Heartland Express by 11.8% during the second quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 16,447 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 1,732 shares during the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on HTLD. UBS Group decreased their target price on Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays raised their target price on Heartland Express from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin bought 63,074 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $10.95 per share, for a total transaction of $690,660.30. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,259,792 shares in the company, valued at $13,794,722.40. This represents a 5.27 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust bought 49,506 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $12.24 per share, with a total value of $605,953.44. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 898,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,998,668.16. This trade represents a 5.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 153,750 shares of company stock worth $1,786,918 over the last 90 days. 39.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Heartland Express Price Performance

Shares of HTLD opened at $11.76 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $11.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.03. The firm has a market cap of $923.12 million, a PE ratio of -40.55 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.63 and a 52-week high of $14.60.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $259.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $268.35 million. Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 2.70% and a negative net margin of 2.11%. Heartland Express’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.14) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Heartland Express, Inc. will post -0.38 EPS for the current year.

Heartland Express Profile

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.