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

Barclays PLC grew its position in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Free Report) by 326.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 83,848 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 64,185 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.11% of Heartland Express worth $1,029,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HTLD. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Heartland Express in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,634,000. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Express during the second quarter valued at approximately $5,584,000. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the second quarter worth $2,702,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 243.2% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 241,755 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,981,000 after acquiring an additional 171,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 175.5% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 104,085 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,278,000 after acquiring an additional 66,311 shares during the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on HTLD shares. Barclays boosted their price target 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. UBS Group reduced their target price on Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $11.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin purchased 63,074 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $10.95 per share, for a total transaction of $690,660.30. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,259,792 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,794,722.40. This represents a 5.27 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust purchased 49,506 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $12.24 per share, with a total value of $605,953.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 898,584 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Insiders purchased 153,750 shares of company stock valued at $1,786,918 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 39.60% of the company's stock.

Heartland Express Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of HTLD opened at $11.05 on Wednesday. Heartland Express, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $9.63 and a fifty-two week high of $13.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company's fifty day moving average is $11.78 and its 200 day moving average is $11.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $867.39 million, a PE ratio of -38.10 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. Heartland Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -27.59%.

Heartland Express Profile

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.