Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Stock Price Down 4.4% - Should You Sell?

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) shares fell 4.4% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $11.46 and last traded at $11.29. 96,333 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 346,168 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.81.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on HTLD. Barclays boosted their target price on 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 lowered their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $11.75.

Heartland Express Stock Up 0.2 %

The business's fifty day moving average price is $11.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $896.86 million, a PE ratio of -30.90 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.02) EPS 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 3.55%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. Heartland Express's dividend payout ratio is presently -21.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin purchased 63,074 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were acquired 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 directly owns 1,259,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,794,722.40. The trade was a 5.27 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust bought 49,506 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $12.24 per share, for a total transaction of $605,953.44. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 898,584 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,998,668.16. The trade was a 5.83 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 153,750 shares of company stock worth $1,786,918. Corporate insiders own 39.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Heartland Express by 7.8% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 26,362 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 1,913 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 39,395 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $442,000 after buying an additional 2,196 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Heartland Express by 85.7% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,069 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 2,340 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Heartland Express by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 210,266 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,359,000 after buying an additional 5,946 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Express during the fourth quarter worth about $75,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.