Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,160,000 shares, a decline of 5.7% from the October 15th total of 1,230,000 shares. Currently, 2.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 310,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heartland Express

In other news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin purchased 63,074 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $10.95 per share, for a total transaction of $690,660.30. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,259,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,794,722.40. This trade represents a 5.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders purchased a total of 154,244 shares of company stock valued at $1,764,464 in the last three months. Company insiders own 39.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Express

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HTLD. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 84.0% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 136,195 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,626,000 after purchasing an additional 62,172 shares in the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Express during the second quarter worth about $5,584,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 82.5% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 142,774 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,760,000 after acquiring an additional 64,522 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $687,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Heartland Express by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 30,780 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 1,965 shares during the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Heartland Express Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HTLD opened at $12.26 on Tuesday. Heartland Express has a 1-year low of $9.63 and a 1-year high of $14.60. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $11.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by ($0.11). Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 2.11% and a negative return on equity of 2.70%. The firm had revenue of $259.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $268.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.14) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Heartland Express will post -0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Heartland Express from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Heartland Express from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.75.

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.