Dean Capital Management Has $2.54 Million Position in Heartland Express, Inc. $HTLD

Dean Capital Management boosted its holdings in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) by 78.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 244,083 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 107,174 shares during the quarter. Dean Capital Management owned approximately 0.31% of Heartland Express worth $2,538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Heartland Express by 72.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 1,153,238 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,664,000 after acquiring an additional 485,658 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 150.6% during 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 last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 91.0% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 812,248 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,807,000 after purchasing an additional 386,961 shares during the period. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Heartland Express during the fourth quarter worth $2,619,000. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its stake 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 worth $4,782,000 after purchasing an additional 251,670 shares during the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HTLD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Heartland Express from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays upped their price target on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Heartland Express from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.80.

Heartland Express Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HTLD opened at $14.28 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $15.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.46. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $6.99 and a 52-week high of $16.64. The company has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.50 and a beta of 1.31.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The transportation company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.07. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 5.69% and a negative return on equity of 3.70%. The company had revenue of $153.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $177.30 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.18) earnings per share. Heartland Express’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Heartland Express news, Director David Paul Millis sold 31,402 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.67, for a total transaction of $492,069.34. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 28,387 shares in the company, valued at approximately $444,824.29. This trade represents a 52.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company 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.