Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from UBS Group

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) had its price target cut by UBS Group from $13.00 to $12.00 in a research note published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on HTLD. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Heartland Express from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $16.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Heartland Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Heartland Express has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $12.20.

Heartland Express Stock Performance

HTLD stock opened at $10.18 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.06. Heartland Express has a twelve month low of $6.99 and a twelve month high of $16.64. The firm has a market cap of $787.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 343.00 and a beta of 1.35.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The transportation company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.03 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $179.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $181.38 million. Heartland Express had a positive return on equity of 0.30% and a negative net margin of 1.77%. Analysts predict that Heartland Express will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 25th were paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 25th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -50.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Express

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HTLD. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Heartland Express during the second quarter worth $104,523,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Heartland Express by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,873,653 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $40,285,000 after acquiring an additional 201,151 shares in the last quarter. Wallace Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Heartland Express during the 2nd quarter valued at $14,687,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Heartland Express by 34.7% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 588,810 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,124,000 after acquiring an additional 151,589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,425,000. 53.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Heartland Express

Heartland Express, Inc is a North American truckload carrier that provides freight transportation services primarily through an asset-based fleet of tractors and dry van trailers. The company transports general commodities, including consumer and industrial goods, over irregular routes and short- to medium-length hauls.

The company serves customers throughout the contiguous United States and also provides cross-border transportation services involving Mexico and Canada. Its offerings include standard truckload transportation, dedicated capacity, expedited and regional services, and logistics support designed to help shippers manage freight movements and supply chains.

Heartland Express was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in North Liberty, Iowa.