Barclays PLC Boosts Stake in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)

Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Free Report) by 326.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 83,848 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 64,185 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.11% of Heartland Express worth $1,029,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTLD. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $6,634,000. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Express during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,584,000. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Heartland Express during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,702,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Heartland Express by 243.2% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 241,755 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,981,000 after acquiring an additional 171,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in Heartland Express by 175.5% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 104,085 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,278,000 after purchasing an additional 66,311 shares during the period. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heartland Express

In other news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin purchased 63,074 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $10.95 per share, with a total value of $690,660.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,259,792 shares in the company, valued at $13,794,722.40. This represents a 5.27 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust acquired 49,506 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $12.24 per share, for a total transaction of $605,953.44. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 898,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,998,668.16. The trade was a 5.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 153,750 shares of company stock valued at $1,786,918. 39.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Heartland Express Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Heartland Express stock traded up $0.12 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $11.22. 240,778 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 358,047. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.63 and a 52-week high of $14.30. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $11.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.01. The firm has a market cap of $880.77 million, a P/E ratio of -38.69 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by ($0.11). Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 2.11% and a negative return on equity of 2.70%. The business had revenue of $259.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $268.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.14) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Heartland Express, Inc. will post -0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. Heartland Express's dividend payout ratio is currently -27.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $11.75.

About Heartland Express

Heartland Express, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a short-to-medium, and long-haul truckload carrier in the United States and Canada. It primarily provides nationwide asset-based dry van truckload service for shippers; cross-border freight and other transportation services; and temperature-controlled truckload services.