UBS Group Has Lowered Expectations for Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Stock Price

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by UBS Group from $13.00 to $12.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the transportation company's stock. UBS Group's price target indicates a potential upside of 8.30% from the company's current price.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $10.00 price objective (down from $12.00) on shares of Heartland Express in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays boosted their price target on Heartland Express from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Heartland Express from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Heartland Express presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $11.75.

Heartland Express Price Performance

HTLD traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $11.08. The company had a trading volume of 82,696 shares, compared to its average volume of 345,029. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $11.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.76. The company has a market capitalization of $875.89 million, a PE ratio of -65.94 and a beta of 0.69. Heartland Express has a twelve month low of $9.63 and a twelve month high of $14.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $259.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $268.35 million. Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 2.84% and a negative net margin of 2.17%. The firm's revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.14) earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Heartland Express will post -0.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Heartland Express

In other news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $11.67 per share, with a total value of $583,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,196,718 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,965,699.06. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 39.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Express

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 64.6% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,007 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 266.3% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,729 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 1,984 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the 1st quarter worth approximately $62,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the second quarter valued at approximately $166,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Heartland Express by 23.3% during the first quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 14,715 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $176,000 after acquiring an additional 2,779 shares during the last quarter. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.