UBS Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Stock Price

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) had its price target cut by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $13.00 to $12.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the transportation company’s stock. UBS Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 11.06% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Heartland Express from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays raised their target price on Heartland Express from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $10.00 price target (down previously from $12.00) on shares of Heartland Express in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Heartland Express has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.75.

Heartland Express Price Performance

NASDAQ:HTLD opened at $10.81 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23. Heartland Express has a one year low of $9.63 and a one year high of $14.60. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $11.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.75. The stock has a market cap of $848.14 million, a P/E ratio of -37.26 and a beta of 0.69.

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 the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by ($0.11). Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 2.84% and a negative net margin of 2.17%. The company had revenue of $259.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $268.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.14) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Heartland Express will post -0.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael J. Gerdin bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $11.67 per share, with a total value of $583,500.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,196,718 shares in the company, valued at $13,965,699.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 39.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in Heartland Express by 14.7% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 37,199 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 4,771 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 85.7% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,069 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 2,340 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Heartland Express during the 3rd quarter worth about $305,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its holdings in Heartland Express by 33.3% during the 2nd quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 19,245 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 4,808 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning acquired a new stake in Heartland Express in the 2nd quarter valued at about $316,000. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.