Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $16.09 and last traded at $15.8950, with a volume of 147621 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $15.75.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HTLD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $12.00 price objective on Heartland Express in a report on Friday, May 8th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Heartland Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Heartland Express currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $12.20.

Heartland Express Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.86. The company has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.11 and a beta of 1.31.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The transportation company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $153.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $177.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.18) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HTLD. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 150.6% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 799,491 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,700,000 after acquiring an additional 480,488 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 91.0% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 812,248 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,807,000 after acquiring an additional 386,961 shares during the period. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,619,000. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 90.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 529,514 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,782,000 after acquiring an additional 251,670 shares during the period. 53.45% of the stock is owned by 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.