UBS Group Downgrades Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) to Neutral

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) was downgraded by UBS Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $13.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock, down from their prior price target of $15.00. UBS Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 10.64% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on HTLD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $10.00 price target (down previously from $12.00) on shares of Heartland Express in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.80.

Heartland Express Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Heartland Express stock opened at $11.75 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Heartland Express has a 12-month low of $9.63 and a 12-month high of $17.08. The company has a market capitalization of $928.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -69.12 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $11.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.05.

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

Insider Transactions at Heartland Express

In other Heartland Express news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin bought 31,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $9.97 per share, for a total transaction of $311,064.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 88,909 shares in the company, valued at $886,422.73. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Heartland Express news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin acquired 31,200 shares of Heartland Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $9.97 per share, with a total value of $311,064.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 88,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $886,422.73. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust bought 8,089 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $10.74 per share, with a total value of $86,875.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 849,078 shares in the company, valued at $9,119,097.72. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 405,490 shares of company stock worth $4,237,451. Insiders own 39.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Express

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HTLD. Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Heartland Express during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $244,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 0.7% in the 3rd 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. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Heartland Express by 141.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 43,679 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $623,000 after buying an additional 25,597 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Heartland Express by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 150,014 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,139,000 after buying an additional 18,712 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates bought a new position in Heartland Express during the fourth quarter worth $8,559,000. 53.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.