Wall Street Zen Downgrades Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) to Hold

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a report on Friday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $12.00 price target on Heartland Express in a report on Friday, May 8th. Barclays upped their price target on Heartland Express from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. UBS Group upped their price target on Heartland Express from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Heartland Express from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Heartland Express presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $12.20.

Heartland Express Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:HTLD opened at $14.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. Heartland Express has a 1 year low of $6.99 and a 1 year high of $14.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.62 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.33.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The transportation company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.07. Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 3.70% and a negative net margin of 5.69%.The business had revenue of $153.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $177.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.18) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Heartland Express will post 0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Express

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 76.7% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,905 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,261 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 185.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,673 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 3,036 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Express during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $89,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 51.3% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,549 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 3,918 shares during the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.