Dean Capital Management Has $1.24 Million Stake in Heartland Express, Inc. $HTLD

Dean Capital Management grew its position in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) by 73.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 136,909 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 58,167 shares during the period. Dean Capital Management owned 0.18% of Heartland Express worth $1,236,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Heartland Express by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 27,708 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in Heartland Express in the first quarter worth $133,000. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in Heartland Express in the first quarter worth $907,000. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Express during the second quarter worth $462,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 1.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 126,736 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,095,000 after purchasing an additional 1,262 shares during the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Heartland Express Stock Up 0.7%

NASDAQ HTLD opened at $14.43 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $13.61 and a 200-day moving average of $11.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.77 and a beta of 1.31. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 52 week low of $6.99 and a 52 week high of $16.64. 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 (NASDAQ:HTLD) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The transportation company reported ($0.06) earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $153.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $177.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.18) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 19.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.04 EPS for the current year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 23rd. Heartland Express’s payout ratio is currently -14.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Heartland Express from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Heartland Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 24th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Heartland Express has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $12.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Heartland Express news, Director David Paul Millis sold 31,402 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.67, for a total transaction of $492,069.34. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 28,387 shares in the company, valued at approximately $444,824.29. This represents a 52.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 41.60% 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.