Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) Short Interest Update

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,380,000 shares, an increase of 16.9% from the December 15th total of 1,180,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 363,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days. Approximately 3.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Heartland Express Stock Performance

Shares of HTLD traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $11.22. 263,141 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 335,078. Heartland Express has a 1-year low of $9.63 and a 1-year high of $13.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $880.74 million, a PE ratio of -38.69 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $11.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.92.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $268.35 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.14) EPS. The business’s revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Heartland Express will post -0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. Heartland Express’s payout ratio is currently -27.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Heartland Express from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Heartland Express news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin acquired 5,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $11.49 per share, with a total value of $59,862.90. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,265,002 shares in the company, valued at $14,534,872.98. This trade represents a 0.41 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust acquired 49,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.24 per share, with a total value of $605,953.44. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 898,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,998,668.16. This trade represents a 5.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 153,750 shares of company stock worth $1,786,918. Insiders own 39.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HTLD. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Heartland Express by 40.5% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 32,058 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 9,243 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Heartland Express in the second quarter worth about $166,000. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Heartland Express in the second quarter worth about $5,584,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in Heartland Express by 6.1% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 100,921 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,244,000 after purchasing an additional 5,804 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Heartland Express by 82.5% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 142,774 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,760,000 after purchasing an additional 64,522 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

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.