Heartland Advisors Inc. Has $5.60 Million Stock Holdings in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)

Heartland Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) by 39.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 365,269 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 233,951 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Heartland Express were worth $5,597,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Heartland Express by 0.7% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 7,944,508 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $116,705,000 after purchasing an additional 55,720 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Heartland Express by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,172,549 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $45,241,000 after buying an additional 264,313 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 99.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,224,494 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $17,988,000 after acquiring an additional 609,769 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Heartland Express by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 704,437 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $10,045,000 after acquiring an additional 31,045 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Heartland Express by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 695,582 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $10,218,000 after acquiring an additional 48,026 shares during the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Heartland Express Stock Down 0.5 %

HTLD stock traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $11.47. The company had a trading volume of 46,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 356,559. The company has a market capitalization of $906.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -67.82 and a beta of 0.66. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.63 and a 52 week high of $17.08. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by ($0.07). Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 1.13% and a negative return on equity of 1.50%. The firm had revenue of $270.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $263.92 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.16 earnings per share. Heartland Express’s quarterly revenue was down 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Heartland Express, Inc. will post -0.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 26th were paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 25th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently -47.06%.

Insider Activity

In other Heartland Express news, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust acquired 14,933 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $12.39 per share, for a total transaction of $185,019.87. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 159,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,980,727.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin acquired 31,200 shares of Heartland Express stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $9.97 per share, for a total transaction of $311,064.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 88,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $886,422.73. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust bought 14,933 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $12.39 per share, for a total transaction of $185,019.87. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 159,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,980,727.35. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 411,423 shares of company stock valued at $4,314,831. 39.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HTLD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Heartland Express from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Heartland Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.25.

About Heartland Express

Heartland Express, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a short-to-medium, and long-haul truckload carrier in the United States and Canada. It primarily provides nationwide asset-based dry van truckload service for shippers; cross-border freight and other transportation services; and temperature-controlled truckload services.