219,111 Shares in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) Acquired by AQR Capital Management LLC

AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 219,111 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $2,702,000. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.28% of Heartland Express at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 666,675 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $7,960,000 after acquiring an additional 84,739 shares during the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in Heartland Express during the 2nd quarter worth $5,584,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Heartland Express by 132.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 225,713 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,695,000 after buying an additional 128,758 shares during the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Heartland Express by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 178,227 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,198,000 after buying an additional 24,314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dean Capital Management grew its stake in Heartland Express by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 150,014 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,139,000 after buying an additional 18,712 shares during the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Heartland Express Price Performance

Shares of Heartland Express stock traded up $0.03 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $11.56. The stock had a trading volume of 209,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 355,106. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market cap of $913.83 million, a P/E ratio of -68.00 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a fifty day moving average of $12.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.73. Heartland Express, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $9.63 and a fifty-two week high of $15.56.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $274.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $275.23 million. Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 2.84% and a negative net margin of 2.17%. The company's revenue was down 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Heartland Express, Inc. will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were given a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Heartland Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -47.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HTLD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group downgraded Heartland Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $15.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays increased their price target on Heartland Express from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com raised Heartland Express from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $10.00 price target (down previously from $12.00) on shares of Heartland Express in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Heartland Express presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $12.00.

Insider Activity at Heartland Express

In related news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin purchased 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $11.67 per share, with a total value of $583,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,196,718 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,965,699.06. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 39.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.