Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) Short Interest Down 12.8% in January

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 994,600 shares, a drop of 12.8% from the January 15th total of 1,140,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 428,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days. Currently, 2.3% of the company's stock are short sold.

Heartland Express Stock Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ HTLD traded up $0.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $10.64. 639,827 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 457,254. The stock has a market cap of $835.77 million, a P/E ratio of -28.76 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $11.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.73. Heartland Express has a 1 year low of $9.63 and a 1 year high of $13.67.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.02. Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 3.57% and a negative net margin of 2.84%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Heartland Express will post 0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on HTLD. UBS Group decreased their target price on Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on Heartland Express from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Express

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HTLD. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Heartland Express during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Heartland Express by 85.7% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,069 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 2,340 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Express during the fourth quarter worth about $75,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Express during the fourth quarter worth about $79,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Express during the fourth quarter worth about $105,000. 53.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.