AXQ Capital LP Takes $176,000 Position in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)

AXQ Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 15,726 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $176,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Heartland Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $6,634,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Heartland Express by 35.2% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 346,271 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,885,000 after purchasing an additional 90,100 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 159.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 127,153 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,561,000 after buying an additional 78,237 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 175.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 104,085 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,278,000 after buying an additional 66,311 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in Heartland Express by 326.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 83,848 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after buying an additional 64,185 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

Heartland Express Price Performance

Heartland Express stock opened at $9.54 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $749.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.78 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.11 and a 12 month high of $13.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $10.69 and its 200-day moving average is $11.37.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.02) earnings per share 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 3.57%. Equities research analysts expect that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 EPS for the current year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -21.62%.

Heartland Express 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.