Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on HTLD. Robert W. Baird set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Heartland Express and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $9.00 price target on shares of Heartland Express in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Zacks Research raised shares of Heartland Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Heartland Express from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $9.75.

Heartland Express Stock Up 6.7%

Shares of HTLD opened at $10.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $834.14 million, a P/E ratio of -23.93 and a beta of 1.15. Heartland Express has a one year low of $6.99 and a one year high of $11.82. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.65. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The transportation company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $172.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $209.68 million. Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 4.37% and a negative net margin of 4.01%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Heartland Express will post 0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 26th were given a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 26th. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -17.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Express

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Heartland Express by 185.5% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,673 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 3,036 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $89,000. Autumn Glory Partners LLC acquired a new position in Heartland Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $89,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Heartland Express by 51.3% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,549 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 3,918 shares during the period. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. bought a new stake in Heartland Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $101,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

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.