Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) Holdings Increased by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Free Report) by 35.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 346,271 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 90,100 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.44% of Heartland Express worth $3,885,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 26,362 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 1,913 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in Heartland Express by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 39,395 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $442,000 after buying an additional 2,196 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its stake in Heartland Express by 85.7% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,069 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 2,340 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Heartland Express during the 4th quarter worth $75,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Heartland Express during the 3rd quarter worth $124,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.45% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Heartland Express news, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust purchased 49,506 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.24 per share, with a total value of $605,953.44. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 898,584 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,998,668.16. This represents a 5.83 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 39.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Heartland Express Stock Up 0.9 %

HTLD stock traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $11.39. 742,654 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 423,895. The company has a market capitalization of $894.12 million, a PE ratio of -30.78 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Heartland Express, Inc. has a twelve month low of $9.63 and a twelve month high of $13.67. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.77.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.02. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 2.84% and a negative return on equity of 3.57%. On average, research analysts forecast that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 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 issued a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. Heartland Express's dividend payout ratio is currently -21.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on HTLD. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lifted 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.

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.