Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Sets New 12-Month High on Strong Earnings

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $12.21 and last traded at $12.0910, with a volume of 38339 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $11.58.

The transportation company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.07. Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 4.79% and a negative net margin of 6.51%.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 24th were given a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 24th. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently -11.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on HTLD shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Heartland Express from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $12.00 target price on Heartland Express and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. UBS Group raised their target price on Heartland Express from $8.50 to $11.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen cut Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $9.00 price target on shares of Heartland Express in a report on Thursday, January 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $10.20.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Magnolia Group LLC purchased a new stake in Heartland Express during the third quarter valued at about $4,062,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 237.4% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 103,373 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $866,000 after purchasing an additional 72,739 shares in the last quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $89,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al raised its position in shares of Heartland Express by 58.5% in the third quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 103,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $867,000 after purchasing an additional 38,200 shares during the period. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 11.1% during the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 43,226 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 4,326 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

Heartland Express Stock Up 5.2%

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $10.70 and its 200 day moving average is $9.63. The company has a market capitalization of $943.31 million, a PE ratio of -17.82 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

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.