Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Stock Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $8.94 and traded as high as $11.65. Heartland Express shares last traded at $11.49, with a volume of 500,400 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HTLD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley set a $9.00 price objective on shares of Heartland Express in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Robert W. Baird set a $12.00 target price on shares of Heartland Express and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $8.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Heartland Express from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $10.00.

Heartland Express Trading Down 1.5%

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $889.90 million, a P/E ratio of -16.90 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The transportation company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $194.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.12) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Express

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HTLD. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 405,220 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,659,000 after buying an additional 60,715 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in Heartland Express by 59.4% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 62,772 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $567,000 after acquiring an additional 23,381 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 374,948 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,386,000 after acquiring an additional 37,190 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the fourth quarter worth about $130,000. Finally, Numerai GP LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $185,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

Heartland Express Company Profile

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.