Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Price Target Lowered to $12.00 at UBS Group

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by stock analysts at UBS Group from $13.00 to $12.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the transportation company's stock. UBS Group's price objective indicates a potential upside of 8.70% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on HTLD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $10.00 price objective (down previously from $12.00) on shares of Heartland Express in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. 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 report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Heartland Express from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $11.75.

Heartland Express Trading Down 0.5 %

HTLD stock traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $11.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 381,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 346,453. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $11.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Heartland Express has a 52 week low of $9.63 and a 52 week high of $14.60. The stock has a market cap of $872.72 million, a PE ratio of -65.06 and a beta of 0.69.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.11). Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 2.84% and a negative net margin of 2.17%. The company had revenue of $259.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $268.35 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.14) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Heartland Express will post -0.22 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Heartland Express

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Express

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HTLD. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Heartland Express by 132.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 225,713 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,695,000 after purchasing an additional 128,758 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $673,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its position in shares of Heartland Express by 84.0% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 136,195 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,626,000 after acquiring an additional 62,172 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its holdings in Heartland Express by 292.4% during the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 108,999 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,301,000 after acquiring an additional 81,220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Heartland Express by 14.6% during the first quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 666,675 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $7,960,000 after purchasing an additional 84,739 shares during the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is owned by 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.