Geode Capital Management LLC Sells 8,468 Shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)

Geode Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,125,862 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 8,468 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Heartland Express were worth $13,828,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HTLD. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Heartland Express by 40.5% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 32,058 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 9,243 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Heartland Express in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Heartland Express by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 16,447 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 1,732 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in Heartland Express in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $166,000. Finally, Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Heartland Express in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,584,000. Institutional investors own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

Heartland Express Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Heartland Express stock opened at $11.10 on Tuesday. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 12-month low of $9.63 and a 12-month high of $14.30. The stock has a market cap of $871.32 million, a P/E ratio of -38.28 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The business’s 50 day moving average is $11.82 and its 200-day moving average is $12.01.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 2.70% and a negative net margin of 2.11%. The company had revenue of $259.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $268.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.14) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Heartland Express, Inc. will post -0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -27.59%.

Insider Activity at Heartland Express

In other Heartland Express news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin purchased 5,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $11.49 per share, for a total transaction of $59,862.90. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,265,002 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,534,872.98. The trade was a 0.41 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust purchased 49,506 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $12.24 per share, for a total transaction of $605,953.44. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 898,584 shares in the company, valued at $10,998,668.16. This trade represents a 5.83 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 153,750 shares of company stock worth $1,786,918. Company insiders own 39.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Heartland Express from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.75.

Heartland Express Company 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.