Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) Short Interest Down 16.3% in February

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) saw a large decrease in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 854,200 shares, a decrease of 16.3% from the February 13th total of 1,020,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 443,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days. Approximately 1.9% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Heartland Express Stock Down 0.6 %

Heartland Express stock traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $9.43. 413,389 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 385,721. Heartland Express has a twelve month low of $9.11 and a twelve month high of $13.67. The company has a fifty day moving average of $10.78 and a 200-day moving average of $11.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $740.73 million, a P/E ratio of -25.49 and a beta of 0.80.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.02. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 2.84% and a negative return on equity of 3.57%. Sell-side analysts expect that Heartland Express will post 0.17 EPS for the current year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently -21.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $311,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Heartland Express by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 88,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $991,000 after buying an additional 12,021 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in shares of Heartland Express by 55.6% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 560,300 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,287,000 after buying an additional 200,100 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in shares of Heartland Express by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 414,856 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,655,000 after buying an additional 98,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the 4th quarter valued at $212,000. 53.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Heartland Express Company Profile

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.