Michael J. Gerdin Purchases 35,960 Shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) Stock

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) CEO Michael J. Gerdin bought 35,960 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $11.97 per share, with a total value of $430,441.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,311,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,703,598.61. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Heartland Express Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HTLD traded up $0.36 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $12.57. The stock had a trading volume of 1,238,135 shares, compared to its average volume of 353,559. The stock has a market capitalization of $986.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.72 and a beta of 0.71. The firm's 50 day moving average is $11.73 and its 200-day moving average is $11.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.17. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.63 and a 1 year high of $14.60.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $259.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $268.35 million. Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 2.70% and a negative net margin of 2.11%. The firm's revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.14) EPS. Research analysts predict that Heartland Express, Inc. will post -0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 2.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 852,557 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $10,469,000 after buying an additional 22,448 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Express during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $124,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Heartland Express by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 256,171 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $3,146,000 after purchasing an additional 12,998 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Heartland Express by 67.2% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 53,597 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $658,000 after acquiring an additional 21,539 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 37,199 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $457,000 after acquiring an additional 4,771 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.45% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Heartland Express from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $11.50.

Heartland Express Company 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.