Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Issues Earnings Results

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The transportation company reported ($0.19) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by ($0.07), Briefing.com reports. Heartland Express had a return on equity of 1.71% and a net margin of 1.22%. The firm had revenue of $270.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $263.92 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.16 EPS. Heartland Express’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Heartland Express Trading Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ HTLD traded down $0.14 on Wednesday, hitting $10.29. 50,444 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 307,083. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37. Heartland Express has a twelve month low of $10.00 and a twelve month high of $17.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $813.22 million, a P/E ratio of 56.94 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $11.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.89.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 26th were issued a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 25th. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio is 44.44%.

Insider Activity at Heartland Express

In related news, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust purchased 14,933 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $12.39 per share, for a total transaction of $185,019.87. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 159,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,980,727.35. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 39.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Heartland Express from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Heartland Express from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Heartland Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.75.

Heartland Express Company Profile

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.