Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Hits New 12-Month High Following Strong Earnings

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $11.86 and last traded at $11.78, with a volume of 1132320 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $11.08.

The transportation company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.01. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 6.51% and a negative return on equity of 4.79%. The business had revenue of $179.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $194.54 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.12) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Heartland Express’s payout ratio is -11.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on HTLD. UBS Group lifted their target price on Heartland Express from $8.50 to $11.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Heartland Express and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Heartland Express currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $10.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTLD. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Heartland Express by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC now owns 40,933 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $370,000 after acquiring an additional 1,820 shares during the period. Enhancing Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the fourth quarter worth $162,000. Tweedy Browne Co LLC increased its holdings in Heartland Express by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Tweedy Browne Co LLC now owns 80,198 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $724,000 after purchasing an additional 11,448 shares during the period. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. increased its holdings in Heartland Express by 158.3% in the fourth quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 31,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 19,000 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its position in Heartland Express by 90.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 529,514 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,782,000 after purchasing an additional 251,670 shares during the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Heartland Express Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $888.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.87 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.04.

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.