Insider Buying: Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) CEO Acquires 5,210 Shares of Stock

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) CEO Michael J. Gerdin purchased 5,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $11.49 per share, for a total transaction of $59,862.90. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,265,002 shares in the company, valued at $14,534,872.98. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Heartland Express Stock Up 9.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HTLD opened at $11.88 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $11.74 and its 200 day moving average is $11.78. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 12-month low of $9.63 and a 12-month high of $14.60. The stock has a market cap of $932.58 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -40.97 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $259.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $268.35 million. Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 2.70% and a negative net margin of 2.11%. Heartland Express’s revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.14) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Heartland Express, Inc. will post -0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on HTLD shares. StockNews.com upgraded Heartland Express from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 64.6% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,007 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in Heartland Express by 266.3% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,729 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,984 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Heartland Express in the 1st quarter valued at $62,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in Heartland Express in the 2nd quarter valued at $166,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Heartland Express by 23.3% during the 1st quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 14,715 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $176,000 after purchasing an additional 2,779 shares during the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.