Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on HTLD. Robert W. Baird set a $12.00 price target on shares of Heartland Express and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Baird R W raised shares of Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Barclays upped their price target on Heartland Express from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Heartland Express from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.75.

Heartland Express Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:HTLD opened at $10.39 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $804.68 million, a PE ratio of -23.09 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Heartland Express has a 12-month low of $6.99 and a 12-month high of $12.19. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.55.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The transportation company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11). Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 4.37% and a negative net margin of 4.01%.The firm had revenue of $172.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $209.68 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Heartland Express will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Heartland Express by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,857,387 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,325,000 after buying an additional 17,962 shares in the last quarter. Gate City Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Heartland Express by 167.6% in the second quarter. Gate City Capital Management LLC now owns 1,611,581 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $13,924,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009,388 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Heartland Express by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,408,307 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $12,168,000 after acquiring an additional 166,717 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 11.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,241,432 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $10,727,000 after purchasing an additional 128,702 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 72.7% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 1,153,238 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,664,000 after acquiring an additional 485,658 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

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.