Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Trading Up 9.7% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) were up 9.7% on Monday . The company traded as high as $10.01 and last traded at $10.0350. Approximately 220,095 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 436,836 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.15.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Robert W. Baird set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Heartland Express and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Heartland Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $9.25.

Heartland Express Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $764.64 million, a PE ratio of -21.94 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $8.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The transportation company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11). Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 4.37% and a negative net margin of 4.01%.The business had revenue of $172.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $209.68 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 EPS for the current year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th will be given a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 26th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio is -17.78%.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Express

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HTLD. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 24.4% during the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 53,948 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 10,594 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Heartland Express by 13.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,408,307 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $12,168,000 after buying an additional 166,717 shares in the last quarter. Dean Capital Management lifted its holdings in Heartland Express by 111.7% during the 1st quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 185,514 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,710,000 after buying an additional 97,877 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Heartland Express by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,241,432 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $10,727,000 after acquiring an additional 128,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gate City Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Heartland Express by 167.6% during the 2nd quarter. Gate City Capital Management LLC now owns 1,611,581 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $13,924,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009,388 shares in the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.