JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Stock Price

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) had its target price lifted by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $11.00 to $12.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the transportation company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target indicates a potential downside of 3.81% from the company’s current price.

HTLD has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Heartland Express from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Heartland Express has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.20.

Heartland Express Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of HTLD stock traded down $0.26 on Friday, hitting $12.47. The stock had a trading volume of 350,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 559,464. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $14.96 and its 200-day moving average is $12.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $966.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.24 and a beta of 1.31. Heartland Express has a 52-week low of $6.99 and a 52-week high of $16.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The transportation company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 5.69% and a negative return on equity of 3.70%. The firm had revenue of $184.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $185.08 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.14) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Heartland Express will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Heartland Express

In other news, Director David Paul Millis sold 31,402 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.67, for a total transaction of $492,069.34. Following the transaction, the director owned 28,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $444,824.29. This trade represents a 52.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 41.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Express

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HTLD. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Heartland Express by 76.7% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,905 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,261 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 3,036 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Heartland Express by 51.3% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,549 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 3,918 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Heartland Express by 18.1% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,525 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 999 shares during the period. 53.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.