Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Reaches New 1-Year Low - What's Next?

Shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $7.98 and last traded at $8.07, with a volume of 80007 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $8.25.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Barclays dropped their price objective on Heartland Express from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd.

Heartland Express Stock Performance

The company's fifty day moving average price is $9.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $650.23 million, a PE ratio of -22.38 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.08.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. Heartland Express's dividend payout ratio is currently -21.62%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Express

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lesa Sroufe & Co acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the first quarter valued at about $999,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 1,261.6% during the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 12,472 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 11,556 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 1.9% in the first quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 66,459 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $613,000 after purchasing an additional 1,257 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Heartland Express by 149.2% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 48,681 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $449,000 after purchasing an additional 29,145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Heartland Express by 173.8% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,719 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,726 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.45% of the company's stock.

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.